Hi.. This summer I purchased and potted 10 Dracaena Spikes (Cordyline Indivisa). The plants are each planted in 24 inch planter(planters have a drainage base). I am looking for some direction on preparing the plant for winter here in Penticton BC. .... - the plants were approx 24 inches in height when planted - Plants have doubled in size (48 inches in height) - They are in full sunlight (they line my driveway) - I fertilized with 20-20-20 every couple of weeks - watered once a week. - a few of the plants have yellow spotting on the leaves the rest are without any visible markings. How are the plants best protected and prepared for the Okanagan winters? I have been advised everything from do nothing to bring them indoors. The plants are quite large so bringing them indoors would not be easy. So again how to do I prepare the plants for winter? Thanks so much for your help.
You will need a greenhouse or similar environment to keep your Cordyline australis (syn. Dracaena indivisa) alive through the winters there. Cordyline indivisa is a different, rare species producing broad leaves.
I thought there was something strange about the name here "10 Dracaena Spikes (Cordyline Indivisa)" It appears that there is a species named Cordyline indivisa, but it is rare in cultivation and does not look like the photos in the thread (although I am not that familiar with Cordyline). There is discussion from the UK and the verdict seems to be that they are not as hardy as claimed or die suddenly. Then I found this commercial page after Ron replied and it all made more sense. http://www.denverplants.com/annual/html/drace_ind.htm "Class: Annual - House plant"
One local grower ordered "indivisa" seeds for years before he finally got the true Cordyline indivisa. A specimen I am growing in a planter came from another nursery here, their seed was received from an overseas private collection they had visited previously.
The link did not work for me. Thought I'd add my experience with these Spikes. I planted 6 of them last Spring. They were in among the "perennials" at the shop, and (nimrod that I am) I did not check any further. They were a nice looking addition to a part-sun garden in the backyard. This Spring, I anxiously awaited the return to life of the Spikes, joining the other greening perennials, which had turned brown over the Winter. I liked the addition they made to that garden spot, and bought three more Spike plants to add to it this year. It was then I read the tag (finally) that said "hardiness 30 degrees F". We had a mild Winter here in central, coastal New Jersey, but we did have snow, and many days well below 30 degrees. I went from thinking that the Spikes from last year were late bloomers, which would rejuvenate later in Spring, to writing them off as my mistake. Then, just a few days ago (mid-May), I noticed that two of the Spikes had produced a few green shoots on the perimeter of the base of the plants. I am wondering if perhaps these two might have some genetic tolerance of cold weather, and if it might be possible to propagate them if that turns out to be the case.
Sounds like you had ideal conditions for a few of those. Zone 6 is generally too cold for a lot of subtropical plants and all tropical plants, but I know of at least one banana grower, one crape myrtle grower, and several fig growers among my relatives there near the Jersey shore. You can probably grow these, propagate more, if you mulch heavily before frost hits. I'd suggest a more organic mulch that will compost a bit to generate added warmth, but you don't want it to rot either. Plus the cordylines are a potential sugar source, so rodents may devour them when food is scarce.
That seems to be in archive now. I'm not sure exactly which is the same article: Cordyline indivisa explained or more likely this one, a webpage capture archive site, that says it's saved from the page at Eric's link: Dracaena indivisa Spikes - Annuals - Denver Plants
Thank you for your reply. I was going to pull up the (apparent) non-survivors among the Spikes, but maybe I'll wait til later in the season. I'll try your advice on mulch for them. I remember seeing fig trees wrapped up in tar paper to get through the New Jersey cold, when I was a youngster. Never knew banana trees could be protected enough to survive. Thank you for your reply. I found the information helpful and interesting. It looks like if you do keep a cordyline from year to year, you wind up with a tre.e
It will take some years before you have a tree from this dracaena. And you can always keep it short by pruning. Which of course, gives you the top to root for more. Should your dracaena survive a few winters, you might find the cold will top prune for you, possibly into your mulch. Bananas are only for the perfect situation. Even my part of Florida is technically too cold, and the remarkable few who get fruit from their bananas will make the papers. I mentioned only because with enough knowledge, persistence, and ideal circumstances we can sometimes get plants to survive where they should not. I'm a Darwinian gardener. Sort of laissez-faire. If it doesn't survive without my coddling, I'm not likely to grow it.
Just an update on my Spike experience: Now, all six have recovered (to varying degrees). Two of them have produced weaker green spike leaves, and the last two have dark-green/brown leaves, hardly distinguishable in color from the dead leaves of last year. I can't argue with your Darwinian approach. Some plants in the garden just aren't worth the effort it takes to keep them there.
