Cordyline Australis Question

we have a few Cordyline Australis that i loved when they were small before they started developing a trunk and turned into little trees, they are about 4ft-ish high now and tbh do nothing for me at all my question is if i were to attach something that would hold a decent amount of compost against the trunk a few inches below the foliage would it take root into it and make a new root ball? so i could eventually sever it from the rest of the trunk and have a nice little Cordyline again?

im not entirely sure what i just wrote makes any sense at all? im finding it quite hard to describe this for some reason

 

If I'm not mistaken Honeybunny you can sever it off from ground level and it should grow new shoots from the base but wait for others responses first just incase I've got that completely wrong.

 

I know after the severe winter we had a few years ago , many large Cordylines were lost . The ones that were cut down to ground level did resprout in some cases . Now I don't know what the success rate is for this procedure , but if you don't like them now you have little to lose.

 

Yes you can, I have mentioned several time on here I grow a purple one in a pot and every couple of years out it comes I get a saw and cut through half way up the pot and drop it back in and fill with fresh compost and the roots that are left I pot up and it will throw up new growth , so I end up with the original looking more balanced and new plants to grow on.


Have you large bucket or one of and cut the bottom out and fit over the top of your plant then fill with compost and once fully rooted slip a saw under neath and sever from the roots in the ground.

Spruce

 

oh Spruce i could hug you im going to do exactly what you said first think in the morning!

 

Thats the best reply ever , here's one for you

Photos would be great from start to finish

Spruce

 

Ooh, this old post is useful. I have two. I'm not the biggest fan when they grow tall but haven't got the heart yet to get rid. I imagine they would be quite interesting growing from ground level.

 

I only posted it on Sunday the 25 Jan 2015

 

Oh lol. I saw 2012 on something and thought it was this! lol going mad


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I prefer them when they have developed a trunk myself, adds some height to the garden.

But, in answer to your question, yes you can chop them down to ground level and will normally sprout again not problem.

 

Yeah.. despite what I said above, this year I plan to grow clematis up one, and then shrubs and perennials around the base of the other to hide the trunk area, so the spiky bits are above all of them adding height. I am quite excited about how that will look. Next year I think they'll be too tall to cover the trunks completely on mine. I am warming to them.