Cordyline Winter Protection ?

I have two rather nice Cordylines , both about 3 foot tall . I dragged them to a sheltered part on the patio last year . As they are very heavy and the lawn is a bit soggy , I want to leave them in situ ,is it advisable to give them some protection ?

 

I'd be tempted to wrap them in fleece Harry. We lost ours last year and it wasn't a particulary hard winter. This one had grown from the base of an earlier one that had been hit by frost about four years ago! If yours are in pots, best wrap the pots too.

 

Cordylines often suffer some leaf damage below /5c and some of the cultivars can die if it gets below that. Both my Torbay Dazzler and Pink Sunrise will be wrapped this time if it gets really cold as I have had -7c for a couple of nights the last two winters and unwrapped, they scorched badly.

 

Just a thought, but i'm pretty sceptical regarding fleece.
I used it on some plants to keep frost off new shoots last spring and found the ones I fleeced fared worse that the ones I left to their own devises.

Not the same thing I know as winter protection, but what I found was, where it touched the plant water collected and froze the fleece to the plant.

My thinking now is that for fleece to be of any benefit, regarding frost protection, it needs to not be in contact with the plant, but held away somehow in tent form.

Having said all that only cordyline I've ever lost to frost was one I tied up overwinter, following advice from years ago.

If pot grown, a protected spot should be enough, unless things get arctic, would be my guess.

 

Thanks for the replies Dave , Strongy, Pete
I did loose a Cordy some years ago . I had tied it up and put a full cover over it . The blooming thing rotted over winter.
So from the advice above I will tie the leaves up loosely , so air can circulate. For the gardening fleece , taking Pete's advice , I'll stick 4 canes in around the circumference and wrap the fleece around that , again allowing for some air circulation. Then keep my fingers crossed we don't have a bad winter like 2009 and 2010 was it ?

 

I think if you tie them up @HarryS you need to untie a few times during mild spells and let the plant breathe, lets face it, in a normal winter it is only on a few occasions where the plant actually might benefit from protection.
To spend all winter tied up for just a few damaging occasions is not good for the plant.

 

I think I'll go with your suggestion Pete. I'll move them both to the patio sheltered from the prevailing winds . I can protect the pots and keep an eye on the weather for cold snaps, when I can throw some fleece over them.
Just one last question . My Chamaerops humilis , Mediterranean palm . These are quite hardy so should be OK ?

 

If established Chamaerops, I find, is pretty tough and hardy, especially if in the ground rather than potted.
Mine has taken minus 12 on a couple of occasions, but young plants are not quite so tough, especially newly bought plants from last summer that might well have been imported and unlikely to have felt a cold winter.

 

Hi all,

Unfortunately I didn't cover up my cordylines over winter. I have never had to before, so assumed it would be fine. I've definitely lost a pot bound one (went all slimy and pretty much collapsed on itself), and now I'm rather concerned about this big beauty. All three heads have just flopped over, with the leaves battered and yellow. Could anybody advise as to whether it's beyond saving, and if not, on how I should approach 'the resurrection' this Easter?

 

Looks more like Yucca elephantipes to me rather than Cordyline.

Mine looks similar, it's not as hardy as Cordyline australis.

 

I lost my green cordyline as i left it outside during typical bitter winter. Cut back to soil level and its resprouted with 8 new plants. All good.

Left an unwanted yucca outside for 2 winters, just spear pulled,cut the head off it today,stem looks solid will now throw out new shoots,making a better looking plant to keep.

Elephantipes kept indoors too heavy to move anyway,chopped their heads off last years,now have chunkier better looking new growth on plants.

 

If it were me i would feel the trunks to see if its still solid and if so cut the heads off and hope new shoots grow.

Bring it indoors to give it as much heat as possible tooo. Keep an eye out for any rot at the cut wound.

The dutch growers are always chopping off their heads producing fresh growth and fat trunks. These things are damned expensive when mature

 

My view is that Y.elephantipes is pretty much a house plant in most of the UK. It will survive mild winters but there will always be the one winter that knocks it on the head, if established it will probably survive, but in a damaged state.

The problem then is that the plant starts going backwards if you get my meaning, new growth is then pretty susceptible to frost the following winter, so without a few good mild winters in a row you're on to a loser.
Just my opinion.

 

Mine clearly thrive on neglect! They've all been in tubs since purchase (must be at least 5 years ago).
Never watered, never fed ... haven't even topped up the compost. Last year they flowered never knew they could!

When I moved into my previous house there was a tub with a dead cordyline in it; chucked it up the copse end to deal with at a later date; never did. Had two very harsh winters my first two years there. Third year, I couldn't believe my eyes - that dead thing .... was growing!! Now, either I have a magic touch or they are not quite so soft as people may think.