Cordyline

Family Agavaceae. These are evergreen shrubs and trees. Cordyline is often mistaken for dracaenas and even for palms. About 15 species are common in cultivation. In their native regions these are mainly very large plants, reaching several meters in height. In indoor conditions cordylines grow slowly and, with proper care, live for a very long time as long as they have enough space and light.

A tulle curtain protects the plant from direct sunlight, and if you place a cordyline deep in the room, it will lack light; then older plants especially intensively lose their old lower leaves and the plant looks bare. For sale cordylines are more often found as a rooted piece of stem.

Кордилина южная или австралийская - Cordylinу australis - a tree with sword-shaped green leaves up to 1 m long and 2–5 cm wide. There are varieties with red or yellow stripes along the leaf. Native to New Zealand. One of the most undemanding species of cordylines.

Кордилина верхушечная - Cordylinу terminalis - a tree with a sparsely branched or unbranched trunk. Leaves are oblong, narrowed at the tip, about 50–80 cm long and 5–10 cm wide. There are forms with green leaves and raspberry stripes on them, as well as with brown, yellow and red stripes. Native to India, Malaysia, Polynesia, Australia. This species of cordyline requires more intensive lighting and is more fastidious in cultivation.

Air humidity: Cordylines require regular leaf spraying. While the plant is small, it can be placed on a water tray. Occasionally give the plant a warm shower to wash off dust and freshen it. Dry brown leaf tips often develop on cordylines when they are kept in rooms with central heating during winter.

Repotting: In spring every two years. Soil for cordyline is a mixture of heavy turf and leaf soil, well-rotted manure or greenhouse soil with the addition of sand. When repotting a cordyline, add to the fresh soil mix, in addition to sand, pieces of wood (birch) charcoal and brick crumbs. For a bucket of soil, three handfuls of charcoal and 0.5 liters of brick crumbs. Pieces of charcoal prevent the development of rotting processes, and brick crumbs increase soil looseness and absorb excess moisture, which is very important, because dracaenas do not tolerate excess and stagnant water.

Propagation: By terminal cuttings (using heteroauxin and soil heating), by pieces of trunk at least 10 cm long, by layering. If you cut off the top of a cordyline, you can place it in a jar of water with a few pieces of charcoal; roots will appear in about three months and the plant is then potted. New shoots will appear from lateral buds at the cut site on the mother plant. To rejuvenate old specimens, wrap the trunk under the crown with moss, tie with a plastic bag and keep it moist. Make transverse incisions on the trunk beforehand.