"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" wrote in message
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"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
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The message
from "ste-m" contains these words:

snip
From the pic, description and speed of growth, I think it's cordyline
australis, aka "cabbage palm". and "Torquay palm". They aren't cabbages
or palms but a lot of them grow in Torquay, and mature trees have the
exotic look of a palm.

If so, starting in a year or so the lower leaves will die and drop off
successively , leaving a bare very fibrous rough textured "trunk" with a
big head of fresh leaves at the top (and huge heads of tiny honey
scented flowers in summer) . They do grow fast in mild areas , I think
the tallest one here is around 40 ft . Higher than that and they tend to
get snapped by gales and start regrowing from the base.

However, you can easily keep them to a more manageable size by just
cutting off the trunk. New, multiple heads will sprout from below, often
making a branched plant with multiple heads. I don't think you're going
to want either shape growing that close to a window, unless the view out
is truly awful :-), and I wouldn't want the roots that close to the
house walls.

Moving them is hard work because even young plants quickly send out
enormous root systems. I moved two unwanted 5-footers from a neighbour's
garden to mine last year and it took two of us a good half day. One
died immediately, the other died at the top but the base resprouted this
spring and now has 5 strong new heads growing from the base.

If you just want an easy way out, you could saw it off at ground
level and apply a stump killer.

Janet.(Isle of Arran)

I will go with cordyline as well but if it's a cordyline then I don't
think it is australis because the leaves look a tad too broad. It
certainly seems to have a very thick trunk for an australis at this stage
of growth and I would have thought that the lower leaves would have died
by now. Cordyline indivisa perhaps.
Incidentally the word Dracaena gets used for cordylines and it is
incorrect but widely used.
"This tree was formerly called 'dracaena' - whence 'Dracaena Avenue' in
Falmouth in Cornwall"
http://www.habitas.org.uk/gardenflora/cordyline1.htm

Having said all that the taxonomy of these things seems a bit confusing.
Every time I see a Cordyline it looks slightly different to the last one I
saw,broader leaf, different rib colour or shade etc. I think there has
been a massive promiscuous going on at some stage:-)

Thanks for that Rupert - I saw a similar looking plant in Tesco a few days
ago and I think that was a Cordline, but as it has distinct yellow markings
in the centre of the leaves, I thought it wouldn't be; but as you say, they
seem to come in all colours and varieties.

Thanks,

Stephen