Cordyline questions

[Cindy Adair]

So I had a credit at a garden center and their Ti plants were half off. I also had a rare Saturday off from work. Not a surprise I brought home new plants!

The first is C. Electra. I chose this particular pot because of the white variegated branch off to the side. So my first question is does it have a chance to survive (in shade maybe) to be propagated when it forms more of a trunk?

[Cindy Adair]

I've temporaily named this one after the Big Box store where I innocently stopped for some fertilizer and it jumped into my cart. So I'm hoping someone can give me a name other than Cordyline HD.

[Tampa Scott]

I would have also grabbed the Electra for the sport. My Electra put out the same looking colors on a ground shoot only to color up normal later. Keep it out of the sun for now. Second one posted is C. Kiwi.

[Cindy Adair]

Here is the tallest: C. Pink Diamonds. It was much larger and fuller before I cut the tallest trunk. It wouldn't have easily been able to go with me to Puerto Rico and I wanted to try my hand at propagating these anyway. Is it likely to resprout and branch at the point where I cut it?

[Cindy Adair]

This is the only one that included the species name so C. terminalis 'Octane'. Are they all C. terminalis or different spp. or hybrids?

[Cindy Adair]

My last questions are the most important ones. Should I just leave these cuttings in water or stick them in a deep container of pure wet perlite that I've used to root crotons?

Did I remove enough leaves? Should I decrease the leaf length by 1/3 to 1/2 as I've done on occasion when rooting plants?

If I use the perlite should I use rooting hormone such as rootone?

Any idea how long it might take to root these? I go to Puerto Rico mid August probably for the last time this year and will probably bare root and (after inspection) take all the plants with me. Otherwise they'll take too much room in my greenhouse. I could make room for the cuttings though.

BTW,thanks to the airline that will allow 2 free bags (or boxes) which leaves more $ for plants!!

[Cindy Adair]

  On 6/23/2013 at 3:42 PM, Tampa Scott said:

I would have also grabbed the Electra for the sport. My Electra put out the same looking colors on a ground shoot only to color up normal later. Keep it out of the sun for now. Second one posted is C. Kiwi.

Thanks so much for the instant answers!

[Tampa Scott]

Down here in Fl this time of year they will root in about a week. I have had very fast results rooting logs and leaf canes in spag, moss.

[kahili]

like Scott said-they will root really fast-maybe not a week for you in Va, but within a month they should start to root. I think that I would cut off some more of the stem and root a shorter cutting, just for speed of rooting the cutting and the ease of moving the rooted cutting through the airport inspections . You can just root the stems if you want to with out the top, like a piece 3-5" high.

I would use a peat/perlite mix, but ti's root so easily that it doesn't matter much-that's just what I usually use. No need for a rooting hormone.

I just reread your post-you are taking the actual plants with you and leaving the cuttings in Va? If so, you can cut off a bunch more-they will start branches/stems where ever you cut off the stem so it will be much fuller, and more room in the bag!

As to how many leaves to take off, its kind of hard to see from the pic how many you took off each, but I would leave on about 8 leaves give or take a few.

As to the sport, it is going to be really sensitive to sun, as Scott said. As cool as they look, for me anyway,they usually start showing brown spots really easily once they are outside. But you could cut it off and root it once it gets some stem and see what happens.

[Cindy Adair]

What thoughtful and useful answers! If I can successfully root them all by August I'll keep only the smallest here and all the rest will go to my farm. I had no idea it might be possible to root them in 2 months.

I now have 2 logs in moist sphagnum, 2 tip pieces with some stem in my deep perlite container and several ones without any woody trunk in the vase of water to admire whether they root or not.

As soon as I see roots forming on my trials I'll cut more of the woody stems as kahili suggested.

The palmpedia site has pages of great information which I enjoyed reading while it was raining here.

I also have a new tag for my C. Kiwi. Lastly I learned that the correct name for C. terminalis is fruticosa so will correct that on my new tags, while including the old name as an aka since it seems still common in the trade.

Thanks again folks!

[Cindy Adair]

Pretty amazed to read that the one gorgeous ti plant I remember planting on our farm (C. Miss Andrea) is named after none other than Andrea Searle!

I had the privilege to meet her and her husband Jeff in Thailand at the Biennial. A group of us enjoyed the Nong Nooch pool most every night and we also shared the Palmtalk bus.

I bought my lovely plant at our local botanical garden's annual sale in Virginia. I even shared a piece with the former owner of my farm so now we both have it. Small world isn't it!

[Tampa Scott]

If memory serves me, I believe Electra is a sport from Miss Andrea.

[Tampa Scott]

Sensation sport...

[Cindy Adair]

Very nice. Your post reminded me to check my logs. Sure enough, one of my two little logs in sphagnum is clearing rooting and I believe the second one isn't far behind. I think one of the cuttings in water may be swelling to form a root. Of course I can't tell on the ones in perlite yet. Thanks again for the propagation advice!

[Tampa Scott]

  On 6/30/2013 at 7:28 PM, apaandssa said:

Very nice. Your post reminded me to check my logs. Sure enough, one of my two little logs in sphagnum is clearing rooting and I believe the second one isn't far behind. I think one of the cuttings in water may be swelling to form a root. Of course I can't tell on the ones in perlite yet. Thanks again for the propagation advice!

Great news! Wonder what the magic is in the moss? I am going to try my hand at some "special" palm seeds with moss and baggies.

[Tropicgardener]

Cordyline terminalis is no longer the correct name, it was replaced approximately a decade ago by Cordyline fruticosa............ In previous years I grew and hybridised these extensively. Very easy to grow from cuttings and tops. I place mine in normal potting mix and keep a try of water underneath them ensuring that the wood is put in the correct way and not upside down!!......obviously laying the cane down horizontal is another way of getting them to strike. I used to have over 300 cultivars but in my previous location they were decimated by spidermites due to living near sugarcane paddocks (where the spidermites came from)......... I am only now starting to get into growing them again.

[exoticatropicals]

I'm kindof late to this post, but your Cordyline "HD" looks like "kiwi" to me.

The lighter colored sport on your Electra is something I see often on those. The baby tips have whiteish leaves that seem a bit easily burnt. After awhile they grow more/toughen up and get much redder and burn less. I've found that Electra likes a very bright light- not quite full sun, but pretty bright. It gets it through that young stage into the red stage. It also requires some hand cleaning once in awhile to get rid of older leaves and alllow some airflow in between the canes.

You scored on the Pink Diamond- those are getting harder to locate around here (Florida)

Your "octane" I cant tell for sure but sort of looks like Willie's Gold from the photo.

Tampa Scott- I'm in Melbourne Beach- wouldnt mind doing some Ti trades if you are interested. my email is exoticatropicals@gmail.com

[Tampa Scott]

I have seen C.Octane for sale and passed it by. I have a Princess Kayla from Hawaii and a Princess Kayla from here and they both look like the Octane. I also have Willie's Gold and it has brighter greens and pink colors. Keep the name Octane on the plant, you will go crazy trying to sort the names as many cordylines will have more than one name.

[Tampa Scott]

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