Dracaena is a popular houseplant known for its ornamental value. Apart from that, there are 6 Great Dracaena Plant Benefits proven in scientific studies!
The name Dracaena comes from ancient greek, which means a female dragon. This name does justice to this plant with bold long, and sword-shaped foliage and its hardy nature. If that’s not enough for you, here are some of the best dracaena plant benefits that’ll add to it.
1. Best Air Purifying Houseplant
VOCs and toxic gases are harmful to human health, and these toxins have made their way into our homes too. Plants remove these pollutants from the air, and one of the most effective among them is dracaena. It can reduce indoor air pollutants like formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene, and carbon dioxide.
These pollutants find their entrance into homes through electrical appliances, furnishings, paints, new clothes, carpets as well as building materials. Exposure to them can cause mild to serious health problems such as headache, respiratory problems, anemia, marrow disease, kidney, DNA mutation, cancer, and much more. According to the NASA clean air study, dracaena absorbs all these pollutants to some extent and keeps the air clean.
2. It Increases Concentration and Sharpens Focus
If you ever experienced a location that had a lot of plants around, you already know what’s our point. Having plants in and around your home and office increases concentration and focus. It is found in a study conducted by The Royal College of Agriculture in Cirencester (England) that students were more attentive in the class (70 percent) with plants around.
Houseplants improve cognitive function and enhance memory, concentration, attention, and overall mental wellness. Check out the conclusion of several more studies on the Texas University Website here. Also, read this study that concludes that Dracaena marginata and several other indoor plants improved the concentration and focus of University students.
Also Read: 11 Amazing Science-Backed Pothos Plant Benefits
3. It Increases Humidity
As we all know that plants make their food from the process of photosynthesis. What most of us don’t know is that plants also release moisture in the air during this process. Around 97 percentile of the water plants consume, they release.
If dry air is your concern, locate a few dracaena houseplants in that room to increase the humidity levels. Many respiratory problems due to dry air will also remain in control due to this. The use of houseplants found a decrease in the incidents of colds, dry skin, dry cough, and sore throats in office workers in a study conducted by the Agricultural University of Norway.
4. Great Ornamental Value
Dracaenas have long been gardener’s favorite for their ornamental value. Straight long leaves of any of the dracaena varieties inevitably create a striking image wherever you place them. The bushy young plants are perfect for tabletops or desks. As they mature, they develop woody stems and turn tall, which adds a bright splash of texture to both indoor and outdoor space. Also, you can choose variegated ones if you are looking for contrasting colors. Not to mention the rich dracaena genus has small and manageable plants like lucky bamboo too.
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5. Low-Maintenance
There isn’t anything that can go wrong with dracaenas as they are very forgiving. Tolerating a wide variety of conditions makes them so common and sought after. They don’t require much watering and are adaptable to low-light conditions. Plus, when it comes to fertilization, two-three times in a year will suffice. We also added them to our list of plants that can grow without direct sunlight.
Also Read: 11 Low Care Indoor Plants with Health Benefits
6. Dracaena Absorbs Lead (Pb)
Lead is a poisonous metal and causes serious health problems. Lead exposure due to ingestion or breathing-in can cause similar effects. Short-term overexposure can cause stomach pain, loss of appetite, memory loss, low concentration, weakness, etc. Moreover, its prolonged high exposure can even kill you. Lead contaminated house dust is one of the major sources of Lead poisoning in the United States. To learn about more sources, click here.
Lead particles can travel through water and air, and dracaena is one of the plants that you can grow indoors and outdoors to reduce the level of lead. While there are not many studies available to claim this, one Indonesian study talks about using Dracaena marginata plants as an absorbent of lead pollutants. Do read that here!
Popular Dracaena Varieties
The large and diverse group of dracaena offers a wide range of foliage features. Some of our favorite varieties are below:
- Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans)
- Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana)
- Gold Dust (Dracaena surculosa)
- Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata)
- Song of India or Jamaica (Dracaena reflexa)
- Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis)
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