I Was Recently Surprised By A Keiki Of Another Variety..

So this short post, is about .. some new growth on one of my otherwise BORING houseplants. As most of you are aware, or at least those who follow my work at blogs and updates, I failed at trying to manually create baby orchid plants from flower stem cuttings. I’m not giving up on that, but rather taking my time to research a different method. I will give it another try in the near future.**

As for the latest surprise, I did not have to do anything at all. It’s the best way! I just had to sit back and relax for about 20 years. LOL

Dracaena Compacta

Or what I called a compact dragon tree. I’m not sure of this exact cultivar, but I’m pretty confident in calling it this. My parents gifted me this plant when they moved from nearby to another state. I guess they were done looking at this plant and thought it would be better left in my hands. My wife and I were just getting married, moving into a new home, so we welcomed the new plant life with open arms.

I am not quite sure how long my parents had this Dracaena plant before gifting it to me. I do remember it in the house while I live there but I just can’t remember for how long. I’m sure my mother, after reading this post, will chime in via text and let me know. That is if she remembers after all this time. My father was also a schoolteacher who kept a handful of plants in his classroom, so it would not surprise me if this was one of them.

What I do know is the plant came to live with us, and it has pretty much look the same for 20 years. I guess that’s why mature specimens are a bit pricey if you are looking to buy one online.

First off, I know this variety of Dracaena likes indirect sunlight, warmth, and humidity. I can provide the indirect sunlight and warmth but our house is probably drier than it should be during the winter months. It survives just fine even in those conditions.

The perfect spot is next to the fireplace .. on a more northwest side of the house. It’s nestled behind some other plants that sort of help fill in the area. A photo blanket, given to us by our late cousin Tiffany, drapes over a leather chair just to the right of the grouping. As you can see in the photo there are a few of Molly‘s beds in this area. She doesn’t mind the plants as long as they don’t bother her. They don’t move much so she’s OK with the situation.

I do enjoy the texture of the stems .. They have a pattern of mixed matched, random, horizontal lines that remind me of a palm tree. I guess these plants grow in the same fashion as a palm tree so it makes sense that they would look similar. Some might call it ugly, but it has grown on me. I do layer the plants in this area so they’re not 100% visible.

What is noticeable and what I do not care for, is the dead undergrowth.. As the Dracaena grows and matures, it’s under growth or older leaves turn brown and die. They don’t exactly just fall off the plant. You have to tug them pretty hard to get them off and they don’t always just pop off. Pain in the butt! Maybe once every three or four months I clean the plant up. It’s not often enough but what can I say I am lazy.

So Here Comes The Surprise…

I was watering the plant last weekend .. and I noticed some shoots appearing at the bottom of the plant. This was very exciting! Babies, and I didn’t even half to manually manipulate the plant in order to produce them. It did it on its own! There’s nothing cooler than that. I wasn’t really hoping that it was going to sprout out new shoots, but now that they are on their way I think I’m more interested in what’s going on.

I really shouldn't be calling them Keiki or Babies .. because this is really looking like branching only. I'll look closer for roots after a while, but will not be surprised if I do not find any.

I am not quite sure if the plant is stressed .. and that’s why it is doing this, or is it just a natural thing after the plant gets to be a certain age or so big. Obviously it is happened before and that’s why there are multiple stems to this particular plant. I do know that if I cut the top portion of the plant off, it will sprout a new shoot at the terminal end. I suppose the first viable node will produce the shoot. See below for an example of this.

The closer I look at the shoots .. I can just barely notice two additional ones just starting to emerge. If you look to the right of the bottom shoot and then to the left of the top when you can see a tad bit of green poking through the stems.

I’ll keep you posted on any developments .. but I am thinking that it’s going to take a long time for these to grow. If the growth rate of the adult plant is any indication, we are all in for a long wait and see. Either way, it gives me something to watch other than TV. I don’t think I’m going to be able to separate these from the main plant, due to the proximity. They are probably shooting out of the main stem somewhere below the soil surface.

For now I’m going to give it approximately 10 years and see where were at. Hahaha.

“Well, we all like things to be predictable, don't we? We expect things to be safe and to keep on happening just the way they always have. We expect the sun to rise in the morning. We expect to get up, survive the day and finish up back in bed at the end of it, ready to start all over again the next day. But maybe that's just a trick we play on ourselves, our way of making life seem ordinary. Because the truth is, life is so extraordinary that for most of the time we can't bring ourselves to look at it. It's too bright and it hurts our eyes. The fact of the matter is that nothing is ever certain. But most people never find that out until the ground suddenly disappears from beneath their feet.”
― Steve Voake, The Dreamwalker's Child

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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