dead cordyline?

Hi all,

I have removed all of the leaves from my cordyline as they were all dying.
I think the problem is frost damage to the tree.
Should i cut the trunk or is there any hope that new shoots could appear from the top of the trunk?

Many thanks

 

My reply is wait and see.

Its to early to say, although obviously dead material can be removed.

 

If the leaves come away with little or no tugging, they're best removed. My Cordylines all look very sorry for themselves and a bit flattened with the weight of the snow, but they're still alive.

 

I would cut out all the dead wood back to live.

 

Cordylines will grow again from the root if the top dies

 

My advise for anything woody that's taken a bashing this winter is to leave it alone.. unless you know what you're doing... wait a month or so... It's still really early... see what happens.. then cut back if needed.

On Cordylines... if the growing point(s) have gone then you will need to cut back... but again wait... they can shoot from furthr up the trunk, not just from the base.

 

Hi there, I sympathise because mine was looking pretty dire after the winter even after i had wadded out the centre and tied it in but its coming round slowly but surely so there is hope :D

 

An update on this
I have never seen so many cordylines with their tops hanging down as I have in this past few weeks
It looks as though the severe winter has taken its toll on this little tree

 

Hi everyone, i'm so new that this is my first post!

When my son was born in 1999 i bought two beautiful cordylines and i planted them in my front garden and they seemed to love it there. Only now after the cold snowy weather, they have lost all their leaves, i did gently pull leaves off and now it looks like i have two six foot rockets in my garden!

I've read previous posts about leaving and see what happens as they may sprout again, but after taking the leaves off the top and trunk the top parts have gone hard, so how its going to sprout through that i dont know.

I really dont want to lose these plants as they are sentimental to me.

Do you think i'd be doing the right thing if i just saw a little off the top to give the new growth an outlet?

I really love my garden. Oh and i also found out last year, that i cant plant anemone with another species of plant as they kill them. Do you know if i plant them around my lawn, will they kill the grass or my hedge?

Thanks for listening!!

 

A few years ago I cut the top growth from a cordyline. I left as much of the trunk intact as I could (which was about 6ft.) It basically looked like a totem pole. It then sprouted loads of new growth from the top (looked quite hilarious as it grew- a bit like Denis the menace's hair.) It now looks great. I gave it a slow activating fertilizer to get it going again. I would think that about this time of the year is the right time to do it if you decide to. Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for replying Garden_fiend. I will take a bit off the top like you did and see what happens, i've got nothing to lose but everything to gain.

Watch this space in a couple of years lol!

Thanks!