Yes you can, and however much you want. I believe air-layering is the usual recommendation, but if you're not interested in propagating the plant, all you have to do is saw through it. New growth will emerge -- eventually -- from the new top of the cane, though until it gets itself back up to speed, the plant will use water much more slowly than you're used to, so you will have to be sure to cut back on water. Getting the plant in as bright a light as you can manage, up to and including dappled or filtered sun, may speed the process up. (Also, if you're not interested in propagating it, consider offering all or part of the old top of the plant for trade or postage on the exchange page. Dracaena canes aren't just falling out of trucks, you know.) If you *are* interested in propagating it, either air-layer, which is probably better in the long run but might be a long wait (around 8 weeks), or cut the top completely off the plant and then use it to create stem and cane cuttings. It's also not out of the realm of possibility that sticking the top directly into water and waiting might result in your plant rooting in water, though there's more of a risk of losing the top that way. In any case, the base will, again, generate new growth on its own, but you have to watch out for overwatering and get it in bright light if you can. Cane cuttings: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8700.html http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/houseplants/propagation_cuttings.html Air layering: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/houseplants/propagation_airlayer.html http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html

Thanks for the reply. I kept on trying with different approaches, but none of my attempts had lead to rooting. With regards to medium, I tried different mixes of vermiculite, perlite and potting soil. Tried two different kinds of rooting hormones. Tried different lengths of cuttings. (What length do you use?) Tried to remove some of the leaves. Tried with and without bottom heat and different levels of natural sunlight - I even tried artificial plant lighting! What happens is that the cuttings quickly drop most of the leafs and slowly turns brown from the bottom. I keep the cuttings in a humid box. As you perhaps can tell - I'm terribly frustrated. However, just as stubbarn. So, could you perhaps post a picture of your setup? Maybe that'll inspire me towards a succesfull process. Best regards, A

Sure cutting them back will make them branch out.

From what I can see; pruning tomatoes causes a minor stress situation and generates early fruiting. Not a bad thought. In the wild a plant could easily be inadvertantly pruned by many things like deer browsing, wind storm, cattle stampede or lightening strike. The plant will survive. It'll go to seed earlier because of the stress. So, prune away, it really doesn't hurt anything but it will cause your plants to produce fruit earlier. Not so bad, huh? LOL