Cordyline - rot at base.

cd.mcgoniglekWYOd8Lr · July 2023

Hi - first post and a bit of a plant crisis. I am sure this is common enough. I think this is a red cordyline - has been here for a more than 15 years. Started dropping leaves over the last year, and I hadn't really paid much attention until recently and have noticed that at the base, the bark had started lifting away from the trunk (see image below). No smell, no ooze - just wet. At the top, the growing area looked like it had given up - so I cut it off and repotted it....not sure if this was the best idea. Where do I go from here? Thanks all.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/65/7cnywcat3lfu.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/ps/g98iokiuvdz9.jpeg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/ao/jyxaefuunz7y.jpeg

AnniD · July 2023

Could be this that's causing the problem.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/cordyline-slime-flux

cd.mcgoniglekWYOd8Lr · July 2023

Thanks AnniD. I thought about that - but there was no real smell. The growing point in the centre of the foliage was brown and soft - looked waterlogged or damp - and it has been dropping leaves for the last few months. I just noticed the loss of the protective coating around the stem, but the fibre / structure at the core feels sound - it isn't soft at all. Just am not sure what to do next for the best. I sawed the top off just below the growing point in the hope that it might resprout...but am not sure what to do underneath. Would be a shame not to try something if I could...

Cordyline - rot at base.

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