Cordyline Crisis !

I stored my Cordy in a sheltered sunny spot over winter. I did not bind the leaves up ,as last year they started to rot ! But this year it now has again these blemishes on the leaves as pics show. Anyone any ideas how I can cure and prevent this ?
TIA

 

hi smiffy

mine has gone the same i think its the water on the leaves and the the sun comes out and burns them

i have 2 one which was in the garden in a shady spot and the other in a pot and the one in the pot looks like yours

the one thats not looking to good i have pulled as many of the lower leaves off as i can without it looking nuts and now have new growth shooting so it should be ok now

try putting it in the shade a little this winter thats what im going to do with mine :thumb:

 

Thanks Cattwoman , I think it could be water damage or frost damage. Mine is coming along with new growth - and as you have done I'll remove as many of the damaged fronds as I can without making it baldy !
I was hoping that the tropical experts could advise us on winter care for these.

I give up ! Where are the smily icons?

 

Smiffy, I dont have any of the varegated ones, mine are all plain green, but they do suffer over the winter a bit also.
They can look a bit tatty at this time of the year.

I'm not sure as to what causes these kinds of problem, but I think physical damage, ie. blowing around in the wind and the leaves bashing together, causes wounds that get infected by somekind of fungus.
It usually grows out with the new leaves, which are fine, if not then its something more serious, but I doubt it.

BTW, you need to click the advanced button at the bottom to get the smilies

 

I grow a couple of variegated ones which are left in the ground - i dont tie up or protect down here and they have gone through the recent mild winters without problems. Although some do get rather tatty at this time of year. Cordline australis is generally a fast grower so will soon outgrow the messy stage.

Unless they bother you too much i would be tempted to leave the leaves on for nowas they wil be adding to the food production of the plant, then remove once they start to outgrow the marks.

The green ones i grow are very tidy this year, its only the variegated ones that looka little tatty for me.

 

Thanks Pete and Tropical, as you state , I suppose we all get a litle tatty over winter :D. Just viewed my son-in-laws cordy and his is perfect . I'll try and winter mine in a better location this autumn.

cheers

 

Mine always looked tatty in fact they always die on me, I like them and have had half a dozen over the last few years, all dead. They don't like me. LOL

 

I have just uncovered one of mine...............it was in a large pot up against a wall........the problem was the wall became encompassed with Ivy! The ivy literally stangled everything it came in contact with but the cordyline survived and today I set it free............. it will be good to see how it goes from here. It stands about five foot tall at present so it should do well.

 

Fred - I know the feeling , you care for the bug-gers and then they go belly up!
ps.just had a look at your pic album , lovely grandkids - we are catching you up - number 6 is due next month :D

 

Moyra - 5 foot ! What height do cordylines grow to?
ps .. do you have any of that ivy for Mrs smiffys side of the bedroom ? :D

 

smiffy sorry i cant help but if you saw my cordylines you would understand as im the cordyline murderer out of 4 i have 1 left..3 rotted and blew over and snapped and the one that remains has had 20 babies and just sprouts and sprouts..it looks the worst thing i have ever seen but i wont give up as if this one survives by the time it gets to a decent size there should be flights to the moon and that is where i shall re plant it..remember someone saying they are so easy to grow...lying sods:thumb:

 

I have 4 cordylines. 3 green(2 of them are babies from the original plant) and a red one. The red one is 10 years old and is about 16 feet to the top of its leaves and last year we had a flower for the first time. I dont protect them at all in the winter and they do fine down here.

 

Here you go Harry, Cordylines become quite large in time easily topping 30 - 40ft in the right climate. These are some planted in a parterre in a local park and are between 12 and 15ft tall.

 

Thansk for the pic Dave , I have never seen a Cordyline so big. I just want a 2 foot high one , that looks half decent. Mine is still looking a little drab - probaly due to the cool cloudy windy weather this year.

 

The key to getting all forms of Cordyline australis looking good, well-coloured (in the case of the variegated and colour forms) and growing well is to provide plenty of root room in a rich, well-drained, but moisture retentive soil. All to often folks assume (incorrectly) it's a palm and can therefore cope with dry, relatively impoverished conditions. In reality, they do best if they receive plenty of moisture in summer and need very fertile soil to grow well and maintain colour. They enjoy full sun, but are equally at home in part shade - especially in winter when clear, cold night cause most of the damage.

Yours is almost certainly 'Torbay Dazzler' - a stronger growing variant of 'Albertii' that cropped up here quite a few years ago. It is slightly hardier that 'Albertii', but only just and requires a fair degree of protection unless grown in a very mild climate. Wigan is too far north to expect this variety to survive winters out of doors unless it is in an exceptionally sheltered site with few, very light, short-lived frosts. If you could haul your plant into a frost free greenhouse, very well lit garage or shed, or a part covered car port for the winter, you would avoid the winter damage that the plant exhibits. Being far less vigorous than the green or red varieties, it has a correspondingly less vigorous root system and it can be easily overwatered if temperatures are too low.

HTH