Cordyline Australis
 

Just bought one, a couple of feet high, green leaves, no further info on the
pot except it says it gets to 3m/well drained soil/sun or light shade.

There is no visible trunk at the moment, I was wondering how fast these
things grow? I have a spot for it that is occupied by a dead tree at the
moment,
but I don't want to cut the dead tree down right away as there is a
dove-cote
thingy on top, so it'll go in a pot for the time being. I'd be interested to
know how
long it'll be before it reaches 6 feet. Any ideas?

Andy.

"andrewpreece" wrote ...
Just bought one, a couple of feet high, green leaves, no further info on
the
pot except it says it gets to 3m/well drained soil/sun or light shade.

There is no visible trunk at the moment, I was wondering how fast these
things grow? I have a spot for it that is occupied by a dead tree at the
moment,
but I don't want to cut the dead tree down right away as there is a
dove-cote
thingy on top, so it'll go in a pot for the time being. I'd be interested
to
know how
long it'll be before it reaches 6 feet. Any ideas?


You don't mention where you are and that will make a difference. In a warm
part of the UK like London it will grow well in the soil and from ours I
estimate 1 foot per year once it's got it's roots down to Oz, so in your
case probably about 7 years. In a pot I doubt it ever will. They don't do
well permanently in a pot, not enough depth.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

andrewpreece wrote:
Just bought one, a couple of feet high, green leaves, no further info on the
pot except it says it gets to 3m/well drained soil/sun or light shade.

There is no visible trunk at the moment, I was wondering how fast these
things grow? I have a spot for it that is occupied by a dead tree at the
moment,
but I don't want to cut the dead tree down right away as there is a
dove-cote
thingy on top, so it'll go in a pot for the time being. I'd be interested to
know how
long it'll be before it reaches 6 feet. Any ideas?

Andy.


Hello Andrew,

I am sure it says "well drained soil/sun or light shade" on all plants,
just for something to say. We had a cordyline in a pot for years and it
never got more than two foot high. We then panted it in our sad heavy
North Lincolnshire clay, and it has shot to over ten foot in three
years. They grow very fast if they like being where they are.

All the best,

Chris Potts

Janet Baraclough wrote:

Cordylines are not completely hardy. In mild areas of the UK they
can survive planted out in the garden, where they can grow much
taller than 3m .

snip

All agreed plus. When the frost does get at an established plant, all is not
lost. Simple cut down progressively from the top until you find non-mushy
trunk, then a little more. It will sprout happily and form a multi stem
plant.

pk

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
Just bought one, a couple of feet high, green leaves, no further info on
the
pot except it says it gets to 3m/well drained soil/sun or light shade.

There is no visible trunk at the moment, I was wondering how fast these
things grow? I have a spot for it that is occupied by a dead tree at the
moment,
but I don't want to cut the dead tree down right away as there is a
dove-cote
thingy on top, so it'll go in a pot for the time being. I'd be interested
to
know how
long it'll be before it reaches 6 feet. Any ideas?

Andy.



Thanks Folks,

I'm in Devon, near the sea so I'm assuming frost won't be a problem.
Also it
will go against a south facing wall. I am cheered by the fast growth rate it
seems
to have, I will have to modify my notion of keeping it in a pot until it is
tall enough to
go in - it may never get tall enough that way! My soil is a decent clay, but
it will be in
a raised area so I reckon it won't get too soggy - except for rain, which is
constant
and plentiful down here. I will keep it in a big pot for a year or so then
chop down
my dead tree, move the dovecote and plant the cordyline: that sounds like a
good
compromise.

Andy

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
Just bought one, a couple of feet high, green leaves, no further info on
the
pot except it says it gets to 3m/well drained soil/sun or light shade.

There is no visible trunk at the moment, I was wondering how fast these
things grow? I have a spot for it that is occupied by a dead tree at the
moment,
but I don't want to cut the dead tree down right away as there is a
dove-cote
thingy on top, so it'll go in a pot for the time being. I'd be interested
to
know how
long it'll be before it reaches 6 feet. Any ideas?

Andy.



Thanks Folks,

I'm in Devon, near the sea so I'm assuming frost won't be a problem.
Also it
will go against a south facing wall. I am cheered by the fast growth rate
it
seems
to have, I will have to modify my notion of keeping it in a pot until it
is
tall enough to
go in - it may never get tall enough that way! My soil is a decent clay,
but
it will be in
a raised area so I reckon it won't get too soggy - except for rain, which
is
constant
and plentiful down here. I will keep it in a big pot for a year or so then
chop down
my dead tree, move the dovecote and plant the cordyline: that sounds like
a
good
compromise.

Andy

I have grown one (purple) outside in Aberdeen for 4 years now. We've never
had what I would consider a really harsh winter - no prolonged period of
frost (ie weeks). I tie it up in a pony tale and cover it with a fleece
"envelope/ bag" when it's liable to be most frosty - I'm as worried about
wet, though. It is growing about the same as Janet suggested - maybe less -
I reckon it has grown about 3 - 4inches per year, but it's young yet!

Chris S

On 22/3/05 18:04, in article , "andrewpreece"
wrote:

snip

I'm in Devon, near the sea so I'm assuming frost won't be a problem.
snip

As the Cordyline australis is aka the Torbay Palm, you should be okay. I
used to have a house in Stokeinteignhead, not very far from Shaldon but it
was quite a frost pocket. The Cordyline in that garden was about 8' or 9'
tall and in the couple of nasty winters I was in that house it didn't even
flinch.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)