cordyline palm

Hi,

Is there any fertilizer I could use for our cordyline palm?

The tip of the leaves is quite brown.

thanks

 

G L, the tips are a little bit scorched. This is normal with narrow leaved plants such as Cordys. A good, all round fertiliser is Fish, Blood and Bonemeal. It can be used all round the garden.

 

Hi gardenlearner,

Browning of the leaves can be caused by a number of things, usually a deficiency in minerals. Trees need 18 different minerals in order to survive, the greatest being nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potasium (K). Blood, fish and bone used to be a good all round general feed but, as I understand it, is hard to come by due to the possibility of CJD in the bonemeal. There are plenty of other chemical fertilisers in your local garden centre or DIY shop that offer the same balance of nutrients. Alternatively you can add well rotted orghanic compost or manure to the base of the tree, taking care not to damage the root/butt of the tree.

 

Hi GL. B,F and B is easily obtainable at Wilkinsons. I bought a 2.5 kg box the other day. Plenty for the small garden or a few containers. I think it was about �£2.

 

Would you suggest feeding now, or wait a little longer for Cordys?

 

Wait until the frosty period is over Gaz, and don`t worry about the fish, blood and bonemeal, because the meal is sterilised, there is no chance of CJD.

 

Personally I dont think you need to fertilize cordys, they are pretty tough old things, and as long as its not pure sand the roots will find what they need.
If its in a container then its a bit different, and a good balanced liquid feed, often, in the growing season is good.
Poor feeding usually shows as yellowing of the foliage, browning of the leaf tips is fairly normal I find, the new flush this spring will soon make the plant look better.

 

I give mine 1 litre of martini cocktail every 3 weeks.

Seriously, Pete is right. Give them the odd slug of growmore if they are in pots. But a sprinkling of BFB won't hurt. But don't over-do it