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What is this plant and how can I stop it dying?

Stephanie SherwinStephanie Sherwin Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Lost my text I think! It's been going brown since the end of last summer. I cut off all the dead leaves from the bottom. What can I do next? http://i39.tinypic.com/t6yz4x.jpg

Posts

  • emmaroseemmarose Posts: 21

    It looks like it might be a member of the cordyline family?  If so, they're native to NZ and although do ok in mild winters don't cope very well with the cold winters we can get.  I can't offer any care advice unfortunately, but hopefully have helped with identifying it!

  • Stephanie SherwinStephanie Sherwin Posts: 3
    Yes it does look like a cordyline. Things is we've been here 4 years and it doesn't seem to be growing tall like a tree. Could it be something else?
  • emmaroseemmarose Posts: 21

    I think it's only certain varieties that grow taller, such as the cabbage tree.  I know mum had a red one (but lost it the year before last over the winter) that she'd had for a few years and was about the same height as the one you have there, maybe a bit shorter.  Hope its ok, they're lovely plants and that one looks really striking in the middle of your lawn.

  • Stephanie SherwinStephanie Sherwin Posts: 3
    Yeah I can imagine it being a nightmare to remove too. Do you think I should remove all the leaves with any brown on? I read that if you cut it right back it will produce new shoots so there's some hope there.
  • emmaroseemmarose Posts: 21

    I don't think it would do any harm.  I have a dracaena houseplant which is also a palm-type plant and as the leaves die off I just pick them off and throw them out - they always tend to be near the bottom like yours, so it could be just older growth that's dying off.  Might be worth giving it a feed of some kind once there's a bit of heat in the air.  Let me know how you get on!  image 

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