Cordyline indivisa

[Darold Petty]

I purchased seed of this species on the internet.  However the small plants are growing in a distichous fashion.  Is this a juvenile characteristic, or have I received wrongly labeled seeds ?

I also have small, known plants of C. petiolaris, these have petioles attached in a whorled, radial attachment to the central axis.  Please advise ! 

[Palm crazy]

Not sure what happen to my posting an hour ago about cordyline indivisa but I just order some seeds myself today. 

Maybe your plants don't have true leaves yet, justing seedling leaves? Most cordyline indivisa seeds are actually australis seeds on ebay. Only NZ seeds company has the real deal I have found. 

[Darold Petty]

Roger, I just sent you a PM.  

[Palm crazy]

45 minutes ago, Palm crazy said:

Not sure what happen to my posting an hour ago about cordyline indivisa but I just order some seeds myself today. 

Maybe your plants don't have true leaves yet, justing seedling leaves? Most cordyline indivisa seeds are actually australis seeds on ebay. Only NZ seeds company has the real deal I have found. 

Dean, feel free to delete my posting above. thanks, Darold. 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Palm crazy

[Darold Petty]

Bump my own thread !    The mystery deepens.  About a month ago I moved my four plants from 4 inch pots up to 6x7 inch pots (California 1-gallon).  Two of the larger ones have now shifted from the strict, distichous habit to a random, radial attachment to the main stem axis.  Also, a faint, orange color is starting to appear on the mid-rib.

(A very promising change)

The first photo shows the strict, distichous habit all four plants originally presented, the second the newer, more radial attachment, and the third photo the very faint orange color.  Might these plants actually be correctly named, Cordyline indivisa?   Who has grown Cordyline from seed?  Has anyone observed this change in the foliage habit?

  Roger, I have had zero germination from the NZ source, how about your seed ?

 

[Palm crazy]

Same here no germination for NZ Seeds so disappointing.  Right now I say you have a 50/50 chance the others are the real thing, You'll know for sure in a few more months. The leaves with start to turn more olive color with a distinct orange band down the middle.  I hope it turns out to be the real deal but I can't tell yet. 

[Richard Williams]

Hello, just wondered how your Indivisa is doing? I just received 2 of them in the post today.

[Darold Petty]

Palm Crazy and Richard,.. I first became aware of this spendid plant, Cordyline indivisa, when I saw them in habitat on the slopes of Mt. Taranaki, (north island of New Zealand.)  My first attempt was a mail order plant from Cistus nursery.   This 5-gallon sized plant grew very well in my garden until it was killed by a pocket gopher,  (Thomomys bottae)    Alas, by that time Cistus had no more inventory.

My second attempt was by seeds purchased online.  I should have been suspicious when the seeds arrived with a return address of Reno, Nevada.  These were the four plants I mentioned with the distichous foliage habit.   I don't have these any longer, I don't remember their disposition, but I admit that I have discarded plants when the ID became suspect.

My third attempt was seeds purchased online from a reputable source,  nzseeds.co.nz.  These failed to germinate, zero!   I signed up for the notification when the new crop would be available.

My fourth attempt was with very fresh seed, also provided by nzseeds.co.nz.

Here is the result.  If I can grow these up into substantial plants I will have an enormous bounty,  as I have space for only one or two plants in my garden.  So, my quest for this plant has been 22 years so far, and these sprouts are yet a few years away from ground planting size.  My friend,  JasonD,  alway mentions a luxuriant and massive individual growing on the coastline north of San Francisco.  This only increases my frustration and resolve !! 

Richard, you should have no trouble growing this in always cool, but frost free conditions.  

[Darold Petty]

So, my quest for this plant has been 22 years so far, and these sprouts are yet a few years away from ground planting size.  

 

 

[Chester B]

@Darold Petty I'm excited for you.  Definitely one of the plants on my wish list, it would be nice to have a population in NAM that can provide seeds/seedlings for the rest of us.

[kinda]

and I thought my quest for this plant was long and painful (4 years), but I got nothin' on 22 years @Darold Petty! There's a video on youtube of a specimen in Vancouver BC that the homeowner found in a grocery store if you can believe it. Bookmarking this thread for future updates.

[Darold Petty]

I don't want to jinx my efforts, but if I can grow these  up to 12-16 inches tall then I will offer many of them, with shipping, on Palmtalk. 

[Chester B]

4 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

I don't want to jinx my efforts, but if I can grow these  up to 12-16 inches tall then I will offer many of them, with shipping, on Palmtalk. 

Count me in.

[Paradise Found]

34 minutes ago, Chester B said:

Count me in.

I'm in or could do a trade/ 

[sbpalms]

Interested as well

[Jblume]

It seems I'm not the first to be enamored by this species!  @Darold Pettydid you have any luck with the seedlings?

[Darold Petty]

The tiny starts are difficult at first, but become much more stable as they get larger.  I distributed several to local friends, and I have none to share at this time. My trusted vendor for the true species seed has been 'out of stock' for a few years now.  I have purchased seed on Ebay, but this is often not the true species.  The most recent Ebay seeds have not yet germinated.

It is easy to identify the true species, even as small plants, with the silver-blue color and the orange mid-rib.  Here in my warmth deprived microclimate they prefer full sun,  even as small starts.  It is a disappointing situation here in California, there is lots of plant material offered at retail nurseries labeled as C. indivisa, but it is never the true species.  Even a giant wholesale grower like Monrovia sells wrongly labeled plants.

I am really busy today, but soon I will post images of my one remaining plant, so as to help others recognize the true species.

Patience is certainly the game with rare plant material.  I desired a cloud forest palm for 28 years with no luck, only to obtain it through the major generosity of @richnorm.  

[Darold Petty]

Ok, here are images of the true species, Cordyline indivisa, grown from seed.  The first image is the most diagnostic, the adaxial surface.  Second image, the whole plant, and third image the abaxial side. 

[richnorm]

Well done Darold, I would love to grow one but alas they would melt in the Auckland climate. But maybe I should just try again and hope for an outlier?!  This week was a good one.  A palm friend came for a visit and gave me four extremely hard to find New Caledonian palms that I had almost given up hope of ever obtaining. And then the next day a letter arrived from a Palmtalker in Australia with fresh Ceroxylon parvifrons seed!   I have a massive stand of bamboo which is flowering at age 120 and will die.  It was a shock at first but now I'm relishing the opportunity of new plantings and what better to plant than gifts?

[Darold Petty]

That's great news, Rich.  Every plant removed is an opportunity to enhance and refine your landscape design.   

[Jonathan]

On 10/10/2025 at 5:22 AM, richnorm said:

Well done Darold, I would love to grow one but alas they would melt in the Auckland climate. But maybe I should just try again and hope for an outlier?!  This week was a good one.  A palm friend came for a visit and gave me four extremely hard to find New Caledonian palms that I had almost given up hope of ever obtaining. And then the next day a letter arrived from a Palmtalker in Australia with fresh Ceroxylon parvifrons seed!   I have a massive stand of bamboo which is flowering at age 120 and will die.  It was a shock at first but now I'm relishing the opportunity of new plantings and what better to plant than gifts?

I think I know that Palmtalker in Australia, he's a good man! I got 100 of the parvifrons seeds too Rich, so fingers crossed for a result. Like others here my previous attempt ended up as vogelianum, which ar first was disappointing but now I'm happy to have them, they're good growers and an interesting looking species.

Back on topic...I had a C indivisa many years ago that I completely abused, assuming it would be tough like most other Cordylines. Lesson learnt, RIP!