Cordyline

Cordylines (or cabbage trees) are THE plant which evokes instant homesickness in New Zealanders overseas, whenever they spy a cabbage tree in someone's garden. The connection with cabbages is a little odd, and Cordylines used to be classified as giant lilies.

first cordyline planted in mooseys garden

I love the cordylines and will always grow them in the garden. I am very fond of the normal common green cabbage trees, and have quite a few planted in threes and fours in different beds. In a way they act like a growth chart - the first cordylines I planted are now between three and four meters high.

Ten Year Old Cordyline

Fibrous Trunks

It's exciting when a cordyline planted years ago suddenly starts looking and behaving like a mature tree. Of course the trunks are fibrous rather than wooden. This single trunked specimen drops its old leaves regularly - the garden beneath is constantly being cleared of them.

Like flax leaves, the old leaves from a cabbage tree are better burnt or left to rot slowly - don't ever be tempted to put then in a chipper! They can be dangerous for lawn mowers, too.

Stylish Hybrid Cordylines

I also have experiences of the stylish variegated Cordyline Albertii. My first plant provided free meals - the bugs that ate it munched the most expensive plant I have ever ever bought! I stripped off the offending leaves, the resulting plant looked rather peculiar with three stalks pointing up to the sky - not very stylish at all! Then it died - probably from stress!

I like my dark red Cordyline in its dark green pot tucked in the corner of the top patio. It is visible from inside the house, framed by a tall narrow window. When it gets too big it goes in the garden and is replaced with a new juvenile. I also have several reddish green cordylines in other pots by the front patio, thus creating a unity in the overall design by using the spear as a echoing motif (hee hee).