Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

What is this?

agrushforthagrushforth Posts: 2
in Plants
 We have this “palm tree” (don’t know the proper name), which nearly died in the cold weather this winter. However, now it is having a sort of flower. We have lived here for five years and never seen this before. Can somebody solve the mystery for us please?

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I think that’s a Cordyline. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It is indeed.
    You can remove the dead, old, foliage lower down, right back to the main trunk. That keeps it tidy :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I've got a feeling that it is a Yucca ( filamentosa ? ) .  The leaves appear "stiffer" and they have sharp tips which Cordyline don't.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    That looks very much like my Cordyline australis which is also flowering, although this one appears to be a variagated one. 
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    philippasmith2 said:
    I've got a feeling that it is a Yucca ( filamentosa ? ) .  The leaves appear "stiffer" and they have sharp tips which Cordyline don't.
    Agree Corydyline.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyline_australis#/media/File:Cabbage_Tree_Flowers.jpg

    Yucca filamentosa flowers are very different.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_filamentosa#/media/File:Yucca_filamentosa.jpg
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • agrushforthagrushforth Posts: 2
    Yes, it looks very much like a Cabbage Tree, but I hope it will not grow to be 20 meters! I have to have a closer research on how and what the Mauri used it for food and medicine, exacting! Strange how it ended up in West Yorkshire. I’m from Norway, and we have nothing like this there. ☃️❄️
    Thank you for all your help!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They're commonly planted all over the UK. In milder, and coastal areas in particular, they grow  into large specimens  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I'd be interested to know which Cordyline is shown in the OP's original  photo.  I have grown several over the years but have never known them to have such sharp tips and the leaves have always been more lax in habit.
    The stiffer leaves and the stiff points are what I have always associated with the Yuccas I've grown.
    I could well have been wrong all these years - no surprise there but I really would like to know :)
     
Sign In or Register to comment.