On 5/8/2008 2:46 AM, marshal wrote:
Hi everyone.
I did a little experiment on a small cordyline, cutting off the top to
see of it would sprout from the trunk.....well it did. I wanted to do
this before I tackled my prize specimin...a 20ft tall single stemmed
cordyline. Well last night I cut about 7ft off the top.

My question is this. The part i cut off has a trunk of about 4"
diameter. i have trimmed some of the lower leaves giving me a 12"
trunk, and planted it into the ground with a bit of general fertiliser.
it there any chance at all that the top will root and grow??

it seemed such a shame to chop it up and compost it. i thought it would
be worth a go.

Fertilizer in the potting mix will promote rot before it roots. Try
rooting it first, in a small container with a mix of half peat moss and
half coarse sand and without any fertilizer at all. After it's rooted,
then move it to a properly sized container with a mix that contains a
light amount of nutrients.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/