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Does my cordyline plant look OK? Pics plus identify questions

saudadestushysaudadestushy Posts: 11
in Plants
Hi,

Just wondering if my cordyline is OK. I bought and planted it around 4 weeks ago. What worried me is that yesterday I noticed the brown trunk parts are very waterlogged, and feel almost like boiled leeks. I noticed woodlice behind the old leaf cuttings, these were longer but I cut them all the way back yesterday to help not hold water. and also 2 very small spots of white mould. It has rained alot in the last couple of weeks. The other thing I am thinking is whether it is not in well draining ground. Are these things normal or are they bad signs? The green leaves look great though.

My second question is, why does my other cordyline look so different? It is smaller yet has a bark trunk unlike this multistemmed one. This one is at the bottom of the pics. (I do love both though). 




Posts

  • saudadestushysaudadestushy Posts: 11
    I'm worried about whether the multistem cordyline could start going down bank as it's only been in the ground for around 3 weeks. Its hard to tell by pics but my worries are:

    1. Slimy stems holding lots of water (and the old leaf cuttings feel like boiled leeks).
    2. I saw 2 very small patches of white mould around half a cm on one trunk, under the old leaf cutting.
    3. I found around 10 woodlice around the stems, whether this is normal im not sure as I'm fairly new to gardening but I know woodlice like decaying organic matter.

    All this could be normal, and the leafs look nice and green, but I'm not 100% sure if those things mean worse to come as I'm new to gardening so thought I would ask here.

  • saudadestushysaudadestushy Posts: 11
    All the pics here are of the same plant, some pics zoomed out, some pics zoomed in on the same plant, a multi stemmed cordyline plant. Except the last pic on the first post (the single one with a bark trunk) which is a different cordyline in the back garden which doesn't have any of the things stated above.
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    The last picture (single-trunk) has had the old leaves removed by simply pulling them sharply downwards ; this is the correct way and reduces the risk of stem-rot .
    Cutting the old leaves off results in the aesthetically unpleasing stems in the first pictures.
    If you've the time (and patience) , you can still remove the remnants of the cut leaves from the multi-stemmed specimen ; start at the top and work downwards . The stem will appear white underneath , but this soon will callous over to the attractive bark of the single-stemmed specimen .
  • WilderbeastWilderbeast Posts: 1,415
    Id say your cordyline looks fine no different to mine which has been growing happily for 3 years. Woodlice don't do any harm at all so don't worry about them. I pull the leaves off rather than cutting which improves the trunk shape. I'd stop worrying 😀
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I'd agree with the others, l don't think you've anything to worry about. The plant should start to settle fairly quickly and put down roots.
    I would also agree about pulling the old leaves off with a downward tug, rather than cutting them, but the cuts should harden over quickly. 
    Don't be worried about asking questions,  gardening is about learning and we''re all still doing it !  :)
  • saudadestushysaudadestushy Posts: 11
    Hi,

    Thank you very much for the replies  :)

    I'll start pulling the leaves off rather than cutting. I will have a go at cleaning up this multistem one too, I did notice white underneath when I pulled a couple which I thought was bad, so good to know it's normal. I will stop worrying now  :D
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