Dracaena fragrans 'Ulises'

A new shoot discovered in Costa Rica

In Heredia, Costa Rica, a ‘Warneckii’ plant produced a shoot with a different leaf pattern in 1995. ‘Ulises’ developed from this new growth.

Wild Dracaena fragrans grows across tropical Africa in forest and nearby vegetation. It ranges from slender shrubs with several stems to trees more than 15 metres tall.

Care for cane-forming foliage plants

• Pruning and propagation: A firm, healthy cane can be cut at the chosen height to encourage buds below the cut. Tip or cane sections root in warmth.
• Watering: Rewater after the upper part of the rootball has dried, the upper layer of the substrate in a deep pot, while some moisture remains farther down. Check more than one area in a multi-cane pot because separate canes may have unequal root systems.
• Water quality: Dracaena fragrans can develop leaf injury from fluoride or accumulated salts. If the tips repeatedly turn brown when hard or fluoridated water is used, switch to rainwater or water with fewer dissolved minerals.
• Temperature and humidity: Keep Dracaena ‘Ulises’ in steady indoor warmth, away from cold draughts and direct radiator heat. Moderate humidity is helpful, but stable root moisture and airflow matter more than occasional misting.
• Feeding: Give a dilute complete fertilizer during active growth. Excess feeding raises salt levels and can worsen tip or margin damage, especially when growth is slow.

Problems and solutions for Dracaena fragrans 'Ulises'

• The pale centre stripe: The broad light band through each leaf is normal for ‘Ulises’. A problem changes the established pattern: whole-leaf yellowing, paling between the veins, isolated bleached areas or expanding dead margins. Compare several leaves and check if the change follows leaf age, exposure or root condition.
• Brown tips on many leaves: Repeated dry tip or margin damage can follow irregular moisture, impaired roots, fertiliser salts, hot, dry air or fluoride exposure. Check roots and watering first, flush excess salts from sound substrate and try lower-fluoride water if the pattern persists. Existing brown ends remain brown; improvement appears on later growth.
• Straw-coloured tips with black dots: Dry brown tips can follow mineral salts, irregular watering, dry air or previous injury. If dark specks develop within dead tissue and the damage continues into healthy leaf tissue, isolate the plant, keep the foliage dry and obtain a reliable diagnosis before using a disease treatment.
• Yellow leaves or leaf drop: The occasional lowest, oldest leaf can yellow and fall as the cane grows. When several leaves yellow together, check the inner rootball, temperature and light. Wet, cold roots and a dry rootball can both cause wilt, so use root texture and actual moisture to choose the response.
• A soft cane or collapsing crown: A sealed top on a cut cane may be dry and firm, but a yielding stem or internal browning is abnormal. Cut only if clean, firm tissue remains well below the damage, disinfecting between cuts. A stem with rapidly spreading softness, leakage or internal browning should not be used for propagation.

Dracaena fragrans ‘Ulises’ is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• It contains saponins that can irritate the mouth and digestive tract.
• Chewing may cause drooling, vomiting, stomach pain, reduced appetite or weakness. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop.

What does Dracaena fragrans mean, and who first published it?

Dracaena comes from Greek drakaina, meaning a female dragon. Fragrans is Latin for fragrant and refers to the flowers.

Carl Linnaeus established the genus Dracaena in 1767 in Mantissa Plantarum, page 9; Domenico Vandelli had proposed the name.

Carl Linnaeus first described it as Aletris fragrans in 1762 in Species Plantarum, second edition, page 456. John Bellenden Ker Gawler later placed it in Dracaena as Dracaena fragrans in 1808 in Botanical Magazine, volume 27, plate 1081.