[1][2] Dracaena fragrans is a slow growing shrub, usually multistemmed at the base, mature specimens reaching 15 m (49 ft) or more tall with a narrow crown of usually slender erect branches.

The flowers are produced in panicles 15–160 cm (5.9–63.0 in) long, the individual flowers are 2.5 cm (0.98 in) diameter, with a six-lobed corolla, pink at first, opening white with a fine red or purple central line on each of the 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) lobes; they are highly fragrant, and popular with pollinating insects.

Elsewhere, it is primarily popular as a houseplant and valued for its tolerance of a wide range of indoor conditions, from bright indirect light, to bright shade (which brings out more variegation in certain hybrids) and even deep shade (where it will have a darker green color).

The NASA Clean Air Study indicated that the plant aided removal of indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene;[5] however, these results were not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes volatile organic compounds at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m2 of a building's floor space.

[7] In cultivation, in the Neotropics, a few generalist hummingbird species, like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Chionomesa lactea), visit the flowers.

[12] Dracaena fragrans can be propagated by cutting segments of old stems, about 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long, drying them in shade for a day, and then inserting them into moist perlite, sphagnum moss and/or sand, until they root.