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Green Zebra

Dracaena goldieana, Asparagaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Green Zebra Plant, Queen of Dracaenas and Zebra Striped Dragon Tree.

Green Zebra (Dracaena goldieana), the whole plant.
Daderot, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Green Zebra is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Toxic to people (low severity). NC State Extension

What the sources say about its care

Light
Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
High Organic Matter
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Toxic to people (low severity)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Water once the top inch of potting mix feels dry. Salt, chlorine or fluoride in tap water can harm this plant.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Stem cuttings are used for propagation.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by banded greenhouse thrips, longtailed mealybug and fern scale.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

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About the plant

Dracaena goldieana, or queen of dracaenas, is a tropical shrub in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Central Africa and Nigeria. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, valued for its richly variegated foliage.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Nigeria to WC. Trop. Africa
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Nigeria to West Central Tropical Africa
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
subshrub or shrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial, Shrub; habit dense, erect
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 24–36 in; width 24–36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers white
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Dracaena

More of the Asparagaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.