Corn Plant
Dracaena fragrans
Toxic to cats and dogs
An easy upright with corn-like leaves. Let most of the soil dry between waterings; sensitive to fluoride, so filtered or rainwater keeps leaf tips clean.
Toxicity
Toxic Usually mild
Signs, in the ASPCA's words
Vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, dilated pupils (cats).
Toxic Usually mild
Signs, in the ASPCA's words
Vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, dilated pupils (cats).
Source — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, toxic and non-toxic plant list; read from this species' own page
Pet-safety information is a general guide from the ASPCA's toxic-plant database and covers cats and dogs only. "If eaten" summarises the symptoms ASPCA lists for that plant; how an animal actually reacts depends on how much it ate and on the animal. It isn't exhaustive, isn't veterinary advice, and individual animals vary — never rely on it as the sole basis for a decision about your pet. If you think your pet has eaten a harmful plant, contact a vet immediately.
Care
- WaterEvery 10–14 days
- LightMedium light
- HumidityAverage humidity
- Temperature16–24 °C
The same interval the Sabz app schedules reminders from. In autumn and winter the app stretches it; see houseplants in autumn.
Common problems
Corn plant brown tips
Like all dracaenas, a corn plant browns at the tips from fluoride in tap water and from dry air. Use rainwater or filtered water, flush the compost through every couple of months, keep it away from heating, and trim the tips for looks. The cause is the water and the room, not how much you water.
Corn plant yellow leaves
Leaves yellowing from the bottom up, with compost that stays damp, is overwatering. A corn plant in medium light wants a drink every ten to fourteen days in summer and far less in winter. Let it dry a good way down, check the pot drains, and expect the yellowing to stop within a few weeks.
Corn plant pale new growth
New leaves coming in pale, narrow and washed out mean too little light. It tolerates a dim corner but grows properly within two metres of a window, out of direct sun. Move it and the next leaves come in a proper green; the pale ones stay as they are.
Similar plants
- Dragon Tree toxicDracaena marginata
- Lucky Bamboo toxicDracaena sanderiana
- Song of India toxicDracaena reflexa
- Golden Pothos toxicEpipremnum aureum
In the app
Add a corn plant to Sabz and the watering interval above becomes a reminder, the toxicity verdict sits on the plant's own page, and when a leaf turns, the Check-up reads what you have actually logged to say why.
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