Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The focus and expertise of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is limited to plant species native to North America. While we are, therefore, not experts on your plant - an African native, we grow tropical and subtropical house plants in our own homes, too, so perhaps we can pass along a couple tips.

The plant you've referred to as the "corn plant" is probably Dracaena fragrans, likely the cultivar D. fragrans 'Massangeana'. It is called that because the upright stalk and leaves resemble a corn plant, Zea mays. The wide leaves make it adaptable to the low light of indoors, and would burn if exposed to sunlight in an outdoor planting. One of the biggest problems in indoor plants is too much moisture or humidity, causing mildew. Symptoms of that are the pesky little fungus gnats that will show up. Make sure your pot is in a good house plant soil and a pot that permits adequate drainage. At the same time, if the tips of the leaves start to turn brown or curl, the plant is probably not getting enough water. Decide which mistake you're making, and then cut it out.

Another problem you will need to make provisions for (and you may already be aware of this) is the size this tree-like plant can grow into. I'm sure you have seen examples of them in shopping malls and large office building lobbies. They can grow to 15' tall and more. That's going to require a big pot, a tall ceiling and a very strong man (or front-end loader) to accommodate the mature plant.