Milky Way Dumb Cane

Milky Way Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia 'Milky Way') carries broad leaves heavily speckled cream over deep green, held on upright canes to about 1.2m tall and 60cm across. It is one of the few big leafed indoor plants that keeps its markings in ordinary household light. The sap is an irritant and toxic to cats and dogs, which is worth knowing before it goes into a room with pets.

Why you'll love it

• Variegation that holds indoors. The cream speckling stays strong in bright indirect light, where many patterned foliage plants revert.
• It fills a corner without spreading. Growth runs up the cane rather than outwards, so it suits a hallway or the gap beside a sofa.
• Humidity is an advantage. Bathrooms, kitchens and humid coastal summers are exactly its conditions.
• Genuinely low maintenance. One watering routine, an occasional wipe of the leaves and a feed in the warm months is the whole job.

Where it works best

Indoors anywhere in the country. Inside, your climate stops mattering, which is the point with a plant this frost tender. Two to three metres back from a bright window is ideal.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. Use a pot with a drainage hole and a saucer you can empty, and repot every two to three years as the canes gain height. In tropical and subtropical gardens a shaded balcony works year round.

Growing Milky Way Dumb Cane in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light, never direct sun through glass, which scorches the leaves. It has no frost tolerance, so outside the tropics and subtropics treat it as an indoor plant year round, away from cold draughts and air conditioning outlets.

Soil. A premium indoor potting mix that drains freely. Perlite helps if your watering hand is heavy, because soggy mix is the usual cause of a collapsed cane.

Water and feed. Water once the top three to five centimetres of mix are dry, roughly weekly in the warm months and fortnightly in winter. Liquid fertiliser at half strength every four weeks from spring to autumn keeps new leaves large.

Pruning and handling. Wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards. Remove lower leaves as they yellow, and cut a leggy cane back to about 150mm in spring; it reshoots from the base.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold as established 200mm plants in packs of six, which suits a larger home, an office fit out or several rooms at once. Each plant arrives with multiple leaves and enough cane to read as a proper indoor plant.

Large soft leaves can crease in transit and the plant may drop one as it settles. Give it a week in its final position before the first water. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read how to keep your indoor plants alive.
• Browse the wider indoor plant range.
• Compare options for dim rooms in low light indoor plants.
• Understand why markings fade in our guide to variegated plants.

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. The sap contains calcium oxalate crystals that cause mouth irritation, drooling and swelling if chewed, and it stings human skin and eyes. Keep it out of reach of pets and small children.

How much light does it need?

Bright indirect light gives the best variegation. It tolerates a dimmer room, but expect slower growth and greener leaves, and never put it in direct sun.

Why are the lower leaves yellowing?

Some loss at the base is normal as the cane gains height. Widespread yellowing usually means the mix is too wet, so check the drainage hole and let it dry further between waterings.

Can I grow it outside?

Only in tropical and subtropical gardens, in shade and out of the wind. Anywhere with frost it needs to live indoors.