I have recently purchased a cordyline red star, about 18" high. I planted it in a container of fertile soil and the pot has plenty of drainage, it's in a sheltered position, away from the wind and any extreme cold weather. i have noticed that the colour has started to fade to green and the lower two thirds of leaves are drooping. i haven't over or under watered it. What have i done wrong, any suggestions please.
sue431960. Is your red cordyline getting enough sun? Shade will cause greening. Old leaves of this tropical tree will hang down as they age and in large specimens can be removed to tidy the plant and show more of the trunk. But 18" is a very young plant for this to happen. Perhaps a bigger and deeper container is needed. I have 3 cordylines planted in borders- Yellow varigated,Red Star and a green with red leaf bases.All have come through several frosty Nottingham winters with no protection, on clay soil.
The only thing I want to lift at the moment is the flipping ground Elder that has encroached from my neighbours garden and the millions of other weeds that stray from the railway bank, and the whole of the land could be drunk on Dandilion and Burdock with all the billions of these invasive plants that that highways department allow to flurrish every where,other than that every thing in the garden's Rosie.it is 2 o'clock in the morning.
Jan: Try and hose off the aphids with a strong jet (or spray with insecticide if you must). You could then cut the plant back which may get rid of more bugs. Most importantly keep it watered and planted in good soil with plenty of sunshine. Aphids can only defeat an unhealthy plant.
i have cordyline which was too big for it,s situation.i read somewhere that you can cut them down to about 1 foot then they may regenerate. it has indeed done this and there are several shoots appearing around the base of the stump. does anyone know what happens now & do i need to do anything else?
I see that wood ash is good for certain plants... I have put it on a few without realising that i shouldn't put it on certain plants, how can i find out which plants don't like it? Will it kill them? I did go out and try to scrape most of it off. I am new to gardening and am quite upset i may have just ruined all my last years hard work!
SR: I'm sure it will be fine but, in future, it would be best to add the wood ash to the compost heap rather than straight onto the ground. Roses, however, don't seem to mind and I quite often tip a bucket of ash around the base of roses. Nothing in this garden has ever died from it. Wood ash is rich in lime and potassium.
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Wood ash is rich in lime and potassium.