Plant identification assistance

[Bill]

I "stole" this plant from beside the dumpster because it looked healthy and interesting and I'm aiming to identify it so I can care for it, water it to the appropriate amount & frequency, etc. Please see below. Anyone? I'd say it's about 4 feet (120 cm) from dirt to top.

Thanks in advance -

- Bill

[David E. Ross]

It is a Cordyline, possibly C. fruitcosa. If it is C. fruitcosa, it is a tropical that is a houseplant in most U.S. climates.

[David Hare-Scott]

I go for a Dracaena, the colours on the leaf edges are not as prominent as most exemplars but likely Dracaena marginata or a close relative.

It is suitable for sub-tropical to warm temperate climates outdoors where it will grow 6m or more in good conditions. In cool climates it is a house plant and usually doesn't grow more than 2m indoors. If it gets leggy you can top it and it will grow new shoots eventually forming quite an interesting angular tortured kind of shape. You can strike the tip cuttings easily too. It isn't too fussy about growing conditions except for not liking cold. If you keep it indoors in front of a sun-facing window, and fed and watered in the growing season it will grow easily.

David

[David Hare-Scott]

I don't think so. Cordyline fruticosa has softer, broader more erect leaves and a more definite pink-red colour most of the time. I reckon Dracaena marginata. I think they would not be distant relatives and probably enjoy the same conditions.

D

[kris anthem um]

I agree. It is definetly not a Cordyline. Dracaena marginata has distinctive redness along outer edges of leaves, which seem to be missing, but the narrowness of its leaves fits with marginata and very few other Dracaena types.

[David Hare-Scott]

If you google images of D.marginata you will see a wide variation in the leaf colours, from the more standard green with red margins, green with other shades of green margins to almost orange. I think the breeders have been busy over that last decade or two producing variant cultivars. In any event I am comfortable that if the OP treats it as that he will not go too far wrong with the growing conditions.

D

[Bill]

Thanks to all for replies, I have (at least) 3 choices to investigate and hopefully I can care for it properly based on what I've learned -

- Bill