"Hussein M." wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 00:05:20 -0000, "Chris Stewart"
wrote:

Hi all - some advice please

Further to my last post, the helpful and curious bunny in me went
and looked up Cordyline.

PFAF : (there are two species)

The species you might expect to have acquired in Blighty are

australis - A very ornamental plant[1], it is not very cold-hardy,
tolerating short-lived lows down to about -10°c[260]. It only succeeds
outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[1, 11, 59]. It grows very well
in Cornwall where it often self-sows[1, 11, 59]. A form with purplish
leaves is hardier than the type and succeeds outdoors in
Gloucestershire[11].

and indivisa - Plants are not very hardy in Britain, they tolerate
temperatures down to about -3°c[260] though one report says that they
can survive occasional lows down to about -10°c[11]. They succeed
outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[11]. This species is more
tender than C. australis[49, 59].

Funnily enough at the residential home where my 98 yr old auntie
lives I have admired a Cordyline. Maybe it is exactly this plant that
they mentioned with reference to the australis specimen in
Gloucestershire as she lives in that very county (but close to the
warming influence of the Severn Estuary). RHS 'paedia pictures a
cultivar 'Atropurpurea' but the one at Wisma didn't look obviously
purple to me. It's about 20' tall, never gets protection, and I
noticed on my last visit it had been quite severely lopped.

The reference for the minus 10 is:
Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2
Phillips. R. & Rix. M

The reference for the tree in Glos. is:
Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement.
Bean. W.

I am sure it will be like my Butia. Once the crown gains sufficient
height to be out of the reach of the freezing *wet* at ground level,
it will be safe.

The complete bumph for C. australis goes as follows:

Cultivation:

Prefers a good sandy loam rich in humus[1]. Succeeds in full sun or
light shade[188]. A very wind hardy plant, tolerating maritime
exposure[49, 166].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is not very cold-hardy, tolerating
short-lived lows down to about -10°c[260]. It only succeeds outdoors
in the milder areas of Britain[1, 11, 59]. It grows very well in
Cornwall where it often self-sows[1, 11, 59]. A form with purplish
leaves is hardier than the type and succeeds outdoors in
Gloucestershire[11].
The flowers have a delicious sweet scent that pervades the air to a
considerable distance[245].
Mice often kill young plants by eating out the pith of the stem[11].

Edible uses (if you decide you've had enough of it!):

Root - baked[105, 153, 173, 177]. It can also be brewed into an
intoxicating drink[183].
Pith of the trunk - dried and steamed until soft[173]. Sweet and
starchy, it is used to make porridge or a sweet drink[173].
The root and stems are rich in fructose, the yields compare favourably
with sugar beet (Beta vulgaris altissima)[153].
Edible shoots - a cabbage substitute[105, 128, 173]. The leaves are
very fibrous even when young, we would not fancy eating them[K].

Other uses:

The leaves contain saponins, but not in commercial quantities[153].
The leaves contain a strong fibre, used for making paper, twine,
cloth, baskets, thatching, rain capes etc[1, 46, 61, 128, 153]. The
whole leaves would be used for some of these applications. When used
for making paper, the leaves are harvested in summer, they are scraped
to remove the outer skin and are then soaked in water for 24 hours
prior to cooking[189].

Respect from the bunny.

Hussein

Thank you, you're a star. Now if it croaks, at least it'll have had a
chance!!

Chris S