How to Grow & Care for Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille’ (2023)

Once you see Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille’, you will become a fan of them with their lovely and rich colored leaves attracting you.

If you want to know more about how they grow and the basic requirements that will help the plant to grow best, don’t just stop here; scroll down. You will get all the answers to your questions. To grow them in your house, it’s really important to provide the plant with all the suitable growing conditions. I know this because I have planted them in my house and have knowledge about the plant, such as what they like and dislike. To know more, continue reading the article.

Quick takeaways

Common Name:	Dumb Cane Camille, Dieffenbachia Camille, Leopard Lily Camille
Scientific Name	Dieffenbachia seguine ‘Camille’
Light	Bright indirect sunlight
Waterin	Water if the top inch of soil is dry
Temperatur	61 to 80ºF (16 to 27ºC)
Hardiness Zone	10 to 12
Humidity	60%
Soil Type	Rich, quick-draining, loamy
Blooms time	Rarely blooms indoors
Soil pH	6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
Fertilizing	A balanced feed once a month in spring and summer
Repotting	Every 1 to 2 years
Pruning	At any time of the year.
Propagation	Root in water or soil
Toxicity	Toxic to humans and pets
Mature Size	3 to 5 feet as a houseplant

Interesting Facts

1. Most people love to plant them in their household as they are known for air purifying which is able to remove harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and xylene from indoor air. 2. The name dumb cane is given to them from the toxins in the plant that are called raphides that are able to cause temporary paralysis of the mouth.  3. You need to keep the plant away from pets and children due to their toxic presence in them.  4. The sap present in the plant is irritating to the skin so for trimming and propagating you need to wear gloves.  5. Dieffenbachia are called ‘Dumb Cane Camille’ which are the plants that are famous indoors.  6. The plant does have the quality of purifying the air and adding them to your house will look classy. 7. The plant is native to the rainforests of Brazil and the West Indies. 8. The plant does belong to the Araceae family.  9. It is different from other plants due to having large paddle-shaped leaves that can be grown upto 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide.

How to Grow Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille’?

Planting Dieffenbachia is easy for those who have experience in planting them but for the beginner, you need to know what will be the right option for planting them like planting them with seeding will take more time and after that, you need to take care of them. The right and quick option for growing Dieffenbachia is by propagating there are different options such as:

Stem cutting:

The following are some steps to propagate the plant with stem cutting:

1. First, you need to select a healthy stem cutting that needs to be about 6 inches long having few leaves on it. 
2. After selecting you need to remove the leaves grown in the bottom of the stem but leave the nodes exposed. 
3. Next place the cutting into a sterile that is a well-draining potting mix or you place it in water. 

Pro tip:

You can also supply the cutting witness rooting hormone to encourage the root growth in the cutting and then put the cutting into a well-draining potting mix. 

Growing In Water:

The following are some steps to grow Dieffenbachia through water propagation:

1. You can easily grow Dieffenbachia ‘Camille’ in nutrient-rich water also. 
2. By growing the plant in water it does control over the nutrients and does reduce the soil-borne disease risk. 
3. You need to consider adding fertilizer with diluting water. 
4. Remember to change the water once a week so that rotting and bacterial growth do not grow in the water. 

Containers:

Following are some steps for Propagating the planting in containers:

1. To prevent the plant from growing conditions from rootbound you need to repot the plant. 
2. The size of the container should be 1-2 inches wider than the actual container.
3. Planting the plant in the container helps them to prevent the plant from becoming root-bound. 
4. The size of the container is basically based on the overall size of the football. 

How to Care for Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille’?

The plant is being originated in tropical rainforests where the climate is hot and steamy on the forest floor and they grow Beneath the canopy of the tree so for planting you need to care for Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille similarly. The following are some important requirements to fulfill the need to care for the plant. :

• Light
• Temperature 
• fertilizer 
• soil 
• watering
• Potting and repotting
• Pruning

Light :

• The light requirement for growing the Dieffenbachia ‘Dumb Cane Camille is about 10000 to 20000 lux.
• The plant needs the light up to 8 hours a day but that should be indirect light.
• If you place the pot in a North or East facing window the plant will get a good amount of light.
• Avoid getting in contact with the full Sun because it will burn the beautiful leaves of the plant. 

Watering:

• As per the watering condition for growing the plant is the consistency of moisture maintaining and draining away the excess water. 
• You need to follow the watering routine by maintaining the moisture level but don’t allow it to sop in the wet. 
• You need to water the plant if you find the first inch of the soil is a dry full stop to check you can stick the finger in the soil. 
• You need to pour the water slowly over the entire surface unless the water starts draining from the bottom.
• During the summer and spring seasons, you need to schedule the watering requirement as it is the active growing season and water needs to grow in that season. 

Temperature:

• The growing temperature range of the plant is from 61 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• The higher the temperature, the more beautiful the plant will grow.
•  You can also move the plant outdoors in the steamy summer months to give the plant a heat boost but you need to bring It Inside in case of falling temperatures.
•  As the temperature tolerance of the plant is below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• In other cold drafts or freezy air, the plant will lose the lower leaves.

Humidity:

• If you want to keep your plant happy you need to fulfill the humidity requirements.
• The humidity level of the plant is between 60 to 80%.
• Avoid dropping the humidity by more than 60% but dont turn the whole house into a steam bath.
• You can manage the humidity by placing the pot on the pebble tray that is filled with water.
• You can also buy a humidifier and group all together the tropical plant in order to provide them with humidity.

Soil:

• You need to meet the same soil requirement that is similar to the rainforest which is a spongy, loose mix high in organic matter.
•  To meet the soil requirement you need to pot soil that can retain some moisture and is well draining also for example commercial African Violet soil.
• The pH level of soil for planting Dumb Cane Camille is 6.1 to 6.5.
• You can also make a custom soil mix by adding two-thirds peat moss or sphagnum and one-third perlite.

Fertilizer:

• Providing fertilizer for growing Dumb Cane Camille will help them to grow big and beautiful leaves.
• The perfect ratio for mixing fertilizer is 20-20-20. 
• For mixing you need to dilute it in liquid and then apply it to the  Dumb Cane Camille.
• Fertilizing the plant totally depends on how much amount of light it gets. For example, a plant that is placed in a brighter spot does need more frequent fertilizing when it is compared to a plant that is placed in a shadier location.
• After pouring the fertilizer you need to water the plant so that the liquid fertilizer solution gets spread evenly over the soil surface.

Potting & Repotting:

• The need for Potting & Repotting comes in once a year.
• If you find that the rootbound conditions that is when the water runs out through the pot of the plant or the water drains from the drainage holes then it is high time to repot the plant.
• The suitable season for repotting is considered the early spring which is the start of the growing season.
• While repotting you need to maintain the ratio between the root ball and soil and after repotting replace the potting soil that helps in preventing the building up of any diseases.

Pruning:

•  The need for pruning Dumb Cane Camille is to remove the dead or damaged leaves of the plant.
• Pruning is done so that the plant looks best with passing time the leaves at the bottom start looking old and die so pruning helps to maintain it.
• If you want the plant to have limited height you need to trim the  Dumb Cane Camille.
• For pruning to need to cut the stems of the plant above the node that will help in new lateral growth.
• Remember to use sharp sterilized scissors or knives for cutting so that diseases or infections dont spread on the skin.

Conclusion:

You need to take proper care of the plant to get good results and for that, you need to meet all the requirements of Dieffenbachia Dumb Cane Camille that I have explained in detail above and I am pretty sure will get help after reading the article for how to care for them.