House plant..planted out of the house. Part 2.

It has that big carrot-like root is why it loves to be in the ground.

I stuck mine in the ground last year. I almost lost it. The pot it was in had a saucer under it..well,that rainy year and the fact that the plant had clogged the drainage holes so..it never drained. When I pulled that saucer off last spring- it stunk like rotten eggs and most of the foliage turned glassy.
This plant is about 5' and my wife bought it as a 3" tall plant for a dish garden on the bathroom windowsill 10 years ago. It grew and grew and then she put it outside.
Last I looked at it a few days ago..its double stemmed with what looks like recovering healthy buds.
Always a story to my plants!

It really likes being outside in the ground in the sun. They grow faster and look so much better. It's just a really tender plant, it'll take a few hours of freezing, usually that's all, though. I tried several in the SF Bay Area and they did well for a while, then died from cold. Dracaena deremensis varieties seem to be a lot more cold-tolerant, though.

My first try with the all green in the 80's? They died. Now,they don't.
Except! for the tricolor or candycane. That's much more tender. I have seen D.marginata with the gray thin,upright, leaves thriving in town. I wonder about the yellow...my gut feeling is that its like the tri-color..not hardy at all.
One day I know "Janet Craig" will be seen outdoors. I might just plant mine..in wire to keep gophers away.

I've seen Dracaena 'Janet Craig' growing outside in Hayward. It did well for years at my mom's neighbor's house. Janet Craig, Dracaena 'warneckii' I saw many growing outside in the Bay Area. The only one that seemed to have issues when it got cold was D. marginata 'Tri-color'. It's the most sun-hardy, also.