Agaveville

Dracaena draco

Originating from Canary Islands, this popular and very ornamental tree is grown all over southern CAlifornia. Fairly fast growing and fleshy, succulent species, it is pretty tolerant of many growing conditions, but not terribly cold tolerant (26F at the best probably, though damaged trees in colder frosts do tend to recover OK). Just a bit too sensitive for me to grow here in Acton where it snows about once a year. Bummer. Not always tolerant of growing in clayey soils that are frequently wet AND windy conditions (trees fall over).

Thank you for the beautiful pictures of the giant dragon trees. Really nice ornamental Dragon Trees!
I cultivate a few smaller specimens (La Palma Dragon Tree) , they seem to branch much earlier (just above the ground).
My two larger specimens come from Tenerife island and i have read they will branch at a height of 2-4 m.

My biggest cultivated plant

Dracaena draco La Palma form

The Geoff photo of the one with Jacaranda's is a great photo.
Here's a young one in Union City Ca in a public park.

At the Huntington

Whats the story on your steal of the century? Maybe in soucal,a Drago is not a hard find..but by the time you get to the bay area a trunking one is hens teeth.

This one is a bit unfortunate: a friend was removing it from a home who didn't want it (!) but it was too big for him to move at about 10'. He took off all but 3 branches to try and root them, and I think it had 8, so it looks very odd. It's rooted in our garden though, and flowering.

Today I came across this really tall specimen in someone's backyard. The head was above the roof of a two floors apartment house so I guess the trunk must be about 5-6 meters.

Two Dracaena dracos in my yard. The one on the hillside is short when it bloomed and branched. Maybe about five feet and the branches were eight all the way around. The tall one on the cul-de-sac was maybe 18 feet when it bloomed an branched and had maybe two or three branches. It's probably about 20 feet now... behind a big old tree aloe.

The short one is blooming again off one of the branches I noticed.