Cordyline Pruning

Hello,

I have a cordyline that looks almost the same as this one:



I have been told that I need to cut off one of the two stems because it is that that is causing the leaves on the main stem to go brown (similar to those in the picture but much worse). The main stem is 7ft tall. The second stem is 4ft tall. Is it safe to cut this stem off? Could I kill the whole plant by doing it?

If not, when should I do it, and how close to the ground should I cut?

Thanks,
Jemima

 

Hi Jemima,

I think it`s just their nature to go brown at the bottom of the stems, I just take the brown leaves off. Mine does the same and it has only one stem.

I don`t think the above pic looks that bad-it looks quite attractive to me.

 

Hi lollipop,

Yes I agree, but the picture isn't of my cordyline it's just one I found on the net. Mine is over half covered in sickly yellow leaves that reach three quarters of the way up the plant where the two stems are next to each other. The plant is allowing the leaves between the stems to die as they interfere with one another (or so I was told). The one in the picture is nice. Mine unfortunately is more yellow than green!

 

Mine have all wound up looking like palm trees - fluffy-bit on top of corrugated stem, bottom leaves all fallen off.

Do they respond to be cut down to 6" and letting them sprout and "start again" I wonder?

 

I only have the one and it cost me a fortune-easily one of the most expensive plants I have bought so I am too scared to try, It is looking like palm tree though.

 

I thought they were palm tree so eventually end up looking like one-the trunk becoming more obvious as they get older and bigger?

 

They are not palms, infact they are from the lily family, they just have a palm like appearance.
They can be cut down to the base and will usually grow suckers from it.

 

Good, I stand corrected! I have a couple in the front garden and they will have to go eventually if they can't be controlled.

 

My goodness
Do NOT cut off the second stem
It is these multi stems which help make these trees attractive
As the leaves die off and turn brown you pull them off and as the tree grows the stem develops into a proper 'trunk'
I wonder who on earth is giving you this dreadful 'advice'

 

whis4ey,

It was the local grass cutter/hedge trimming man. He has 'professional gardener' written on his van. :D Are you saying that the fact that all the leaves between the two stems are yellow all the way up to the full height of the smaller stem is nothing to worry about? The yellow leaves at the bottom of both stems are yellow and this is normal I know; as they fall away they form the trunk. It's the ones between the two trunks which go up to twice the height of the lowest 'normal' yellow leaf that worry me. Here's a 'diagram':

1
1 3
1 3
1 3
2 4
2 4

Each column of numbers is a stem. 2 and 4 are the 'normal' lower yellow leaves. 1 and 3 are green leaves *except* where they touch, in which case they are yellow too. :luv:

 

LOL
You have me lost now
Any chance of a pic?
I have loads of pics of my own cordylines ( I have 5 ... have had them for about 30 years or so) but I am having difficulty finding them as they are not very well documented
I have found this one taken a few years ago you can see the different trunks that have developed

 

These plants are basically indestructibly bomb proof! after a god few years you can chop them down by about half and you get a profusion of new side shoots coming up really improves the look (IMO...) There's quite a bit of variation I find in certain ones of these plants, some don't really drop there leaves at all and then you have a messy brown skirt up the trunk while others make a regular thing of dropping leaves

 

Just pull off the dead leaves, the nauture of cordlines is to shed leaves as the plant grows and the crown raises.

Cutting off one stem will only cause suckers or rot, It wont make a difference to the leaf shedding/ yellowing of the remaining stem.

 

Hi Jemima, the bottom leaves on my Cordy turned yellow last year, i just pulled them off, it is now looking more like a tree which i Prefer...

 

Ok, here is a pic to make it clearer:

View attachment 196 (Click for big version.)

The left side is the original pic (remember that this is not my plant - I don't have a camera to take such a picture).

The right side shows what I am saying. The part highlighted 'normal' is the yellowing leaves at the bottom, which is normal behaviour for these plants, and is fine. The part highlighted 'my concern' (between the two trunks) is where my plant is very yellow and all the leaves are dying. This is not normal. As you can see on the left image, it is *not* happening to the lucky owner of this specimen.

I hope that makes it clearer. :D