Truly the perfect office or house plant, dieffenbachia, is a wonderful option for someone looking for an easy to care for plant.

The coloration of this plant is generally light colored stems with some mixture of greens, creams, and yellows on the leaves. The most recognizable being a cultivar known as, ‘Tropic Snow’, which has the characteristic large flat tear shaped leaves with dark green edges around a white or cream colored leaf. The previously mentioned stems resemble sugar canes and contribute to the plants common name of dumb cane.

Another reason that the plant may be called dumb cane is because of its toxicity level to people and most markedly pets. Calcium oxalate is a natural defense system of the plant to teach herbivores to not eat it as it may cause the throat and other tissues to swell up and prevent breathing. If you suspect that your animal has eaten some of this plant immediately get it to a vet. Try to induce vomiting and tell them precisely what your animal may have eaten. In addition, those with sensitive skin take care to wear protective gloves while pruning as it may cause a rash or other inflammation.

Native to Brazil, Central America, and Puerto Rico where rainforests prevail, dieffenbachia enjoys bright filtered light over direct sun which may cause scorching of the leaves. Scorching consists of the leaves turning brown and or wilting. Also, in regards to light; pay attention to the growth of leaf bracts and stems, those that seem to be long and gangly or even ‘reaching’ may not be getting enough light at all.

As with most all plants, a properly drained soil is optimum with fertilization just before your regional growing season. Because of its ancestral rainforest habitat this plant benefits from misting year around, especially in the winter months, to boost the surrounding humidity which is usually very low in most households. Do try to avoid rapid changes in temperature with this plant as the average household 70 degrees Fahrenheit is most advantageous. Keep in mind to not set it near drafty windows or doors or near appliances that may give off a lot of heat like televisions, refrigerators, or radiators.

The most popular way to reproduce this plant is by way of cuttings. After pruning the parent plant set the new pups into wet sand until they develop their own fledgling root system. This plant can also be propagated by air layering and from seed. Seeds come about from nondescript flowers that look very much like a calla lily bloom. The outer part of the flower, or spathe, can be light chartreuse green to an olive yellow. Inside this structure will be the spadix where the seed pods will develop after pollination. If you are growing your plant more for foliage and display purposes these flowers can easily be clipped off as reproduction saps much of the plants energy reserves. Or of course you can let nature take its course.

Finally, the two main insects to be looking for on dumb cane are mealy bugs and spider mites. Both can easily be taken care of with a good washing of the leaves with some warm soapy water. Do not worry too much if any of the water is absorbed by the plant through its roots via the soil as mealy bugs are a systemic pest; which means they gain their sustenance by sucking on the juices of the plant and therefore they will ingest any soap residue.