Dumb Cane

Dumb Cane 'Memoria Corsii' (Dieffenbachia 'Memoria Corsii') earns its place indoors on leaf size alone. Broad paddle shaped leaves, marbled in cream and two tones of green, build to about 1m tall and 70cm across in a bright corner. One caution before you buy: the sap is toxic to people and pets, which is where the common name comes from.

Why you'll love it

• Variegation that reads across a room. Each leaf carries a wide cream centre feathered into green, so one plant does the work of three.
• Sized for real rooms. At roughly 1m by 70cm it fills a corner or flanks a doorway without crowding furniture.
• Genuinely low maintenance. Water when the top few centimetres dry, feed twice over the warm months, and it looks after itself.
• Humidity is a bonus, not a problem. Bathrooms, kitchens and steamy subtropical rooms suit it better than dry air does.

Where it works best

Indoors, anywhere in the country. Inside a warm house your climate stops mattering, which is the point with a plant this frost tender. Give it bright indirect light a couple of metres back from a hot window.

Pots and containers. A 250mm to 300mm pot with a drainage hole suits a mature plant. Sit it on pot feet rather than in a saucer of water.

Balconies and courtyards. Outdoors it needs a frost free, sheltered spot, and only in tropical or subtropical gardens.

Growing dumb cane in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light keeps the variegation strong; deep shade makes it stretch and go plain, and direct sun scorches the leaves. Growth stalls below about 12 degrees and frost damages it outright, so in cooler southern cities treat it as an indoor plant that holidays outside over summer.

Soil. A quality indoor potting mix opened up with perlite or coarse bark. It wants moisture with air around the roots, never a sodden base.

Water and feed. Water when the top 3cm of mix is dry, then let the excess drain away completely. Cut right back through winter. Half strength liquid fertiliser every four weeks from spring to early autumn is plenty.

Pruning and handling. Remove tired lower leaves at the base to keep the stem tidy. Wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards, because the sap irritates skin and mouths.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in tube stock, so it arrives as a young single crowned plant, a handful of leaves and well under knee height. That is the honest picture: you are buying a plant that will fill a 250mm pot within a season or two, not a finished specimen. Pot it up on arrival and it moves quickly through the warm months.

Foliage plants travel well packed upright, though a lower leaf or two may yellow in transit and can simply be removed. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to keep your indoor plants alive, and the mistakes behind most losses.
• Why variegated leaves behave differently.
• Browse the indoor plants range for companions.
• Compare other variegated foliage plants.

Common questions

Is dumb cane safe around pets and children?

No. The sap carries calcium oxalate crystals that cause burning, swelling and temporary loss of speech if chewed, which is how the plant got its name. Keep it on a stand or shelf out of reach in a home with pets or small children.

Why are the leaf edges going brown?

Usually dry air, or a build up of salts from tap water. Group it with other plants, keep it clear of air conditioning vents, and flush the pot thoroughly every few months.

Can I grow it in a dim hallway?

It will survive, but the cream marbling fades towards plain green and the stems stretch between leaves. Bright indirect light near a window gives you the pattern you paid for.