DRACAENA MARGINATA

 

The two biggest factors that determine your plant's needs are lighting and watering.

LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS

 

• High Light – on a windowsill

If your cat is sleeping in this sunny spot, it's probably best for bright light plants. Plants that require bright light need to be as close to a direct light source as possible - preferably in a southern or western facing window where they can catch a glimpse of the sky. 

• Medium Light – near a window

A sunny window with sheer curtains or an office desk near a window would also do the trick. Plants that require medium light should be placed near a southern, western, or eastern facing window, but not in direct sunlight. Within 3-5 feet of the light source would be ideal. Otherwise, you could place an indirect light plant in the middle of a bright, sun-filled room farther from the windows.

• Low Light – far from a window

Is northern light all you've got? Trying to add some greenery to your dorm room or office? Low light plants might be best for you. You can also place a low light plant in the center of a room away from windows. 

Not enough light in your room? Light colored walls and mirrors that reflect light from windows will help brighten up the place. Otherwise, you can add fluorescent light fixtures or grow lights near your plants for supplemental light. 

WATERING REQUIREMENTS

• Water Weekly – these plants need a bit more attention and should be watered on a 7-10 day schedule. If the leaves look a little droopy, that's your plant telling you want to up that watering to every 5-7 days!
• Water Every Other Week – these plants can live on a lot less water than most plants. They should be watered every other week at most and shouldn't be drenched in water. If you tend to be an over-waterer and have one of these plants, you might want to have a planter with drainage holes to make sure this plant can dry out properly

Scroll down to see how much we recommend watering your plants!

HOW MUCH DO I WATER MY PLANT?

This will depend on each environment (humidity levels, lighting, if it’s close to a draft/vent) but here’s how much we water our plants so you have a reference to get yourself started.

• We usually give our plants between ¼ and ½ cup of either weekly or every other week, depending on your plants watering frequency on the plant’s detail page. We highly recommend using a measuring cup from your kitchen to water your plants until you are comfortable enough to eyeball this amount with a watering can.
• For plants that don’t like their soil to be completely dry between waterings, you might need to either increase the water amount slightly or just take a spin around the house and water those plants more frequently (maybe every 5 days instead of every 7, for example).
• IMPORTANT: make sure you read our thoughts and feelings on drainage holes. We recommend always letting plants with NO drainage dry out completely between waterings because you don’t have visibility to the bottom of the plant. Root rot is not your friend.
• Super simple pro tip: set a weekly, recurring reminder in your phone to remind you to take a spin around the house and water those babies up! (Just remember to skip the plants that need to be watered every other week)

PLANT FERTILIZATION

Pick up a liquid or water-soluble house plant fertilizer at your local garden center and follow their instructions (we use Miracle Gro Liquid All Purpose Plant Food). We also lay off on the fertilizing during the winter months and usually only fertilize according to the directions on the bottle from March – October(ish)

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

We’re here to help! Shoot us a note at hello@perricoplantco.com, a DM on Instagram @perricoplantco, or a Facebook message at Perrico Plant Co.