New hardy cordylines in z8

[Sandy Loam]

Nice, PalmCrazy.  Have you got any specimens of Cordyline Dracaenoides in the ground? (the "Brazilian Cabbage Tree")  It is supposed to be the most cold-hardy cordyline of all, but it has no colour other than green. I have never seen if for sale, except on some European websites.   

 

[_Keith]

I have tried a lot of these in Zone 9a, but the winters of 010 and 13 took every last one of them out.  I will try again but with lower expectations.  

[Palm crazy]

Nice, PalmCrazy.  Have you got any specimens of Cordyline Dracaenoides in the ground? (the "Brazilian Cabbage Tree")  It is supposed to be the most cold-hardy cordyline of all, but it has no colour other than green. I have never seen if for sale, except on some European websites.   

 

Thanks Sandy Loam, but I have never heard of this one before, especially from Brazil. You might find this information interesting…. Looks like the name has been changed to C. dracaenoides is now C. congesta. Never heard of that one either, LOL.  http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/16229-cordyline-dracaenoides/

Theres suppose to be one that is evergreen to 8a in Southern New Zealand, but have never seen it for sale here. 

[Palm crazy]

I have tried a lot of these in Zone 9a, but the winters of 010 and 13 took every last one of them out.  I will try again but with lower expectations.  

Keith I am scratching my head on why they would not grow back for you…Hmmmm maybe something in your soil? 18F can knock them back to the ground but not kill them so I am wondering if it something else. Your close to the coast (little cooler in summer) so I don’t get it. Maybe an alligator or snapping turtle ate them…LOL!  

[Palm crazy]

I have tried a lot of these in Zone 9a, but the winters of 010 and 13 took every last one of them out.  I will try again but with lower expectations.  

Keith I am scratching my head on why they would not grow back for you…Hmmmm maybe something in your soil? 18F can knock them back to the ground but not kill them so I am wondering if it something else. Your close to the coast (little cooler in summer) so I don’t get it. Maybe an alligator or snapping turtle ate them…LOL!  

Most of mine have come back from 15F so I don’t get it why yours wouldn’t at a higher temperature?

 

Edited November 5, 2015 by Palm crazy

[Bazza]

Excellent thread - I love C. australis and have discovered how durable the Dark Star is - gave up on the Red Sensations - I was told by the vender they can get a small insect (worm) that burrows into them - but I never investigated further. Just got tired of seeing them croak on my jobs and have to replace them.

I have some Dark Stars I planted at 3 different properties and they are now very mature (head high) with nice thick trunks. Here's a couple pics for now and will try to get some more pics to you soon so hang on...worth waiting for.

PS - The green version I am also planning on implementing into my designs - the local vender who grows them calls them "spikes" - I buy them in 4" pots and step them up in gallons and have some now maturing that I will be planting somewhere.

The cold hardiness is very reassuring...I can assure you.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2015 by Bazza

[_Keith]

I have tried a lot of these in Zone 9a, but the winters of 010 and 13 took every last one of them out.  I will try again but with lower expectations.  

Keith I am scratching my head on why they would not grow back for you…Hmmmm maybe something in your soil? 18F can knock them back to the ground but not kill them so I am wondering if it something else. Your close to the coast (little cooler in summer) so I don’t get it. Maybe an alligator or snapping turtle ate them…LOL!  

Could be a couple of things, one is that we have very wet winters, totally saturated soils.   The other is that we generally go from mild 80s weather to hard freezes overnight.   Because plants don't gradually harden into winter, it is common to lose plants here that are actually a zone hardier.  Or it could just be that I am a bad gardener, don't rule that out, lol.

[Sandy Loam]

Wow, Bazza.  I love your many Cordyline Australis 'Dark Star'.  Where did you buy those?  I have never seen them for sale in Florida, but I have seen them out in California looking great. 

They look fabulous!

[Palm crazy]

Those cordylines look fantastic! 

[Bazza]

On 11/7/2015, 1:03:13, Sandy Loam said:

Wow, Bazza.  I love your many Cordyline Australis 'Dark Star'.  Where did you buy those?  I have never seen them for sale in Florida, but I have seen them out in California looking great. 

They look fabulous!

Thanks, Sandy. I purchased them from a wholesale nursery in Ormond Beach called Slingerlands. They do a great job offering a wide variety of mostly flowering and some foliage plants as well. Bought the last batch of them in 2 gallon pots originally for a home show we did back in 2012.

 

BTW...here are some 3 gal. Cordyline 'Florica' we also used at the show...beautiful aren't they?

 

Here's another property I used some at.......behind the Trinettes as an accent plant. They don't show up too well in this pic but I also grouped some behind the Trinettes at the left corner of the house behind those Trinettes to make a theme. The homeowner is not feeding the center Queens as he should although I have urged him to on several occasions. The low purple plant by the paving is some Purple Queen they planted after a nice Dioon edule I had there croaked from over watering. Anyway...I love the Dark Stars in landscapes - because it reminds me a bit of the New Zealand Flax plant used in CA so much - just a dynamic visual impact that really grabs your eye.

 

A few more pics of the display we had at the show. I joined forces with a local paver company so that's his hardscape and my "greenery".   I stopped doing these shows after about the 4th one....too much work for the return. In the last pic you can see some nice Cordyline 'Black Magic' we used as well.

 

Check out the 'Little John' Callistemon standard in this pic...how cool is that?

[Matthew92]

On 10/29/2015, 11:51:01, Opal92 said:

I need to upload a picture of it, but at my grandparents house, there are some green leaved C. australis (I assume) that have stayed outdoors in pots all year. They are doing great having survived temps as low as the high teens and brutal heat and humidity in the summer and now have several inches of trunk. The leaves on them also are more thin and grasslike. Will get a picture when I go back there.

Update. Haven't been able to take a picture yet, but after looking through pictures of cordylines online, I realized they are regular green C. australis!

I've seen other forums and such that say they are a no-go in the S.E. USA (too hot?), however, I was just looking at Dave's Garden, and apparently people in Myrtle Beach have grown them in ground. Also I saw that people have found them to be much more cold hardy than zn 8b.

I need to try these more.

Edited December 13, 2015 by Opal92

[Sandy Loam]

Opal92, check out the cordyline australis "dark star" growing outside the Starbucks in the outlet mall parking lot at Destin, FL.  There are a few of them around that Starbucks and they have grown into trees. I have seen them there for the past few years, but I don't know exactly when they were planted.  They seem to love that sandy soil there.

That is only about 15 minutes from where you live, right?  It should serve as proof that they thrive in your climate year-round.

 

[Laaz]

I have a couple in the ground here in Charleston, both have over 6 ft of trunk. Planted them as tiny spikes 11-12 years ago. One now has 5 growing points on it.

 

[tunku2]

On 1/27/2012, 10:32:40, Palm crazy said:

These photos were taken the day before the big snow storm hit.

That red is awesome, and my favorite color but..

I only ever had what I call the English Cordyline and in 2010 winter which was pretty sever here it keeled over in slow motion... I watched it.

What is the purple one called please Palm Crazy?

Thanks!

[Palm crazy]

Purple one I have is cordyline 'red star' is good for temperate climates, cordyline 'red sensation' is better for subtropical and warm dryer climates. 

[Sandy Loam]

Funny -- I find "red star" to be more red and "red sensation" to be almost a dark purple (the opposite). At least, this is based on how they are labelled by Florida plant retailers.

[Las Palmas Norte]

Regular old C. australis seems to do better on the west side and extreme south of the island than here. Seems like they'll get nuked in the mid-upper teens F.

A couple from Tofino BC. from Google street view.

Cheers, Barrie.

 

 

[Axel Amsterdam]

Some really great cordy's here. Here is my red star. It grew a trunk very quickly.

[Axel Amsterdam]

In 2013 it was like this

[Axel Amsterdam]

Anyone familiar with Burgundy Spire?

Apparantly they are very hardy and keep their leaves for a long time. 

[Cikas]

Beautiful collection of cordylines.

Edited November 25, 2016 by Cikas

[Axel Amsterdam]

how about an update? 

[Palm crazy]

Heres some updated photos taken 12/02/16 and it was only in the 40’s so it was chilly so not the best photos. This year I decided to dig up some of my cordyline so that I will have some really tall ones in container. 

Starting off heres some cordyline australis which will die back to the ground at 15F, but always grows back. 

This last one is one I grew form seed from one of my blooming ones.  4 years in the ground and 8’ tall. 

Cordyline red star is very hardy.

C. torbay dazzler.

This one is a bush type but has no name. New reddish bronze new leaves age to green. 

C. cherry sensation is very colourful especially in summer, not so much in winter. 

Here are two shrub type cordylines only grow 36”. 

C. cha cha, new growth is orangey copper fades to yellow and green.

C. can can has pink and bronze leaves height 36”. Both of these are great for containers. 

This is a new one called C. pink passion totally different look than cherry sensation. Brighten up any dark day. 

This last one is Cordyline coral. Coppery orange leaves with a white sheen over them. Very pretty and totally different any of the others.

I promise I will post new photos next fall much earlier when the weather is still warm and lighting is much better. The different is quite amazing. 

Thanks for looking.  

 

[Palm crazy]

Today I noticed this tall cordyline australis about 2 miles from my house. Looks to be around 12’ tall. 

[Axel Amsterdam]

do you know how much cold a trunking dazzler can handle? I have a small one waiting for spring

[Palm crazy]

1 hour ago, Axel Amsterdam said:

do you know how much cold a trunking dazzler can handle? I have a small one waiting for spring

Torbay dazzler and Red star are about the same in hardiness. 18f/-7.5C  Planting close to the house really helps a lot and out of wind is good also. Some of mine are also planted under tall trachys that gives them overhead protection.  Both are root hardy 8a. 

Edited December 6, 2016 by Palm crazy