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Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Winter Damaged Cordyline - care

The winter damaged Cordyline Palm has been cut and will hopefully rejuvenate itself. I took off the damp sections of the tree and left the dry stalks to recover. I heard a radio show that said recovery could take two years. In the meantime, I'll grow climbers up the trunks for some summer interest and colour.
Left: An everlasting sweetpea has been planted at the base of the palm... if it survives me moving it. I'll also be planting morning glory soon.

(The cat is once again supervising my efforts.)



Left: The Cordyline after Winter damage. Photo taken Feb 2011. 

Winter this year was one of our worse on record and thousands of people in the UK and Ireland ended up with burst pipes and dying Cordyline Palms. 

Right: I took direction from Belfast Botanic Gardens who cut their damaged palm in April 2011.

For further updates on the Cordyline:
http://kelliboylesgarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/frost-damaged-cordyline-update.html
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10 comments:

  1. Peggy7 June 2011 at 14:41

    We were at Bloom on Sat & sat into Gerry Daly's garden clinic, he was advising people to wait and see if the cordyline sprouted from any point even the root.In that case to cut the trunk above that point, if there were more than one sprout to cut away the unwanted ones and allow one or two to develop.In some cases it could take up to 2 years for the tree to recover sufficiently to sprout!
    Your idea of training plants up in the meantime is brilliant!

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  2. HolleyGarden7 June 2011 at 19:52

    Oh! I knew you had cut yours, but I didn't realize it might take two years for it to grow back! We gardeners have to be so patient!

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  3. Mark Willis7 June 2011 at 21:52

    I'm hoping for the best for you. From my house I can see Cordyline palms in two neighbours' gardens. One is like yours, but the other is still pretty healthy. I think it must be because one was more sheltered from the wind than the other. Neither had any additional protection.

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  4. Jo8 June 2011 at 01:50

    I hope your cordyline recovers. In the meantime, it should look pretty with climbers growing up it, just the thing for the perennial sweetpea to grab hold of.

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  5. Malay-Kadazan girl8 June 2011 at 07:25

    I think morning glory will look wonderful there. Hope it recovers.

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  6. Egretta Wells blog8 June 2011 at 13:06

    Your cordyline actually looks quite scuptural in the garden and will look better when the sweet pea and mornning glory get started. It might just surprise you and come back sooner than you expect. I hope so!

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  7. ann8 June 2011 at 20:55

    While I didn't lose any trees, thankfully, I did lose a few plants because our winter was so darn dry. It was just a wierd winter all around. I think morning glories will give your palms lots of good color until they regain their health.

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  8. Rainy Day Gardener8 June 2011 at 22:04

    Kelli, what is the history behind lot's of folks in the UK growing Cordyline Palms? I am assuming it is not a native plant. I hope yours surprises you with new growth sooner than expected. I imagine it has been a special plant of interest in the past in your gardens. Your cat is like my cat, always making sure the work is done correctly :)

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  9. Kelli9 June 2011 at 01:16

    Thanks for your comments. Useful info, Peggy. I've never been to NI's annual garden event, I should really go as I was impressed by your photos of the Irish event.

    Jenni, I'm not sure why so many UK and Ireland homes have Cordyline palms. I believe the plants are native of New Zealand. They're usually a good price at the garden centre and suppose they're good structural plants. They remind me of sunny days - maybe that's why we buy them as we get so much rain here we need a reminder that sunshine does exist lol.

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  10. littlekarstar9 June 2011 at 03:30

    Hope it comes back soon. I'm excited to be visiting norn iron very soon! Hope the sun comes out for us !!

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