Dracaena Flowers

Heavens! This has nothing to do with paper, books or art, but is so pleasing I just had to mention it. About a day ago my bedroom started to smell as if it were filled with roses. Lots of roses.

Then I noticed sticky gobs of sap by my printer (fortunately, not on the printer). I looked straight up over my head and saw this. It’s a Dracaena (commonly known as a corn plant). I’ve had plants like this for 25 years and never previously had one do this. Its name turns out to be Dracaena fragrans—those lushly-scented flowers, apparently, are a defining feature.

One houseplant website says they rarely bloom indoors. I thought I was mean to it, but it turns out they like low light and forgetful watering. Who knew?

It sits right next to a mother-in-law’s tongue that blooms annually. Perhaps this will become a regular occurrence.

One of my mother-in-law’s tongues in bloom.

4 thoughts on “Dracaena Flowers”

  1. Well, well! I have these growing in the garden and they flower regularly. But I've never noticed a rose fragrance. And I'm a (former) rose grower! Perhaps the fragrance is intensified when indoors (Some plants are like that)
    Whatever! I'm pleased you like them.

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  2. Good to hear from you again. I'd meant to make a comment about your Pussy Willow hairs, but then something intervened and I got distracted from the computer. Good of you to remind me to go back and finish my visit…

    Given that it's currently -2 C outside, it's hard to imagine a garden full of these. Sounds lovely. Maybe the scent isn't quite roses, but it reminds me of a strange perfume I once knew many years ago that claimed to be rose-scented. Whatever it is, it is *strong*. It can be smelled two rooms away. Some of the websites I saw say that people sometimes remove the flowers indoors because they're so overpowering. I'm rather enjoying it.

    But now, back to huddling by the heater.

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  3. How beautiful!
    I know and feel your excitement, I feel exactly the same with my plants especially when in bloom.
    In the summer, every night I bring bunches of night jasmine inside and the house fills with their perfume: superb!
    Enjoy your blooming dracaena; now that it bloomed once, it's going to bloom again and again in the future!
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  4. Thanks for that Anna! What a lovely note. The thought of my ever-blooming plant(s) brought a smile. Your night jasmine sounds divine! I also currently have two pink Thanksgiving cactuses in bloom in another part of the house. I don't think I'll ever lose the sense of thrill and wonder at a blooming plant. It is exciting. A friend once told me that when tending to plants, you can't feel bad. Some truth in that. Many future blooms and a happy Thanksgiving to you too!

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