just your typical spike sold everywhere. It obviously got frost as you can see.. too bad because it looked great. I have a garden rock light which highlighted it at night and it was a show stopper. Just how big can these things grow? It looks like hell. What kind of root system do they have? Will it tear up all my perennials and spring bulbs when we take it out? Can it just be chopped at soil level and resprout? I hate the thought of having to redo the whole bed.
What you have are most probably specimens of Cordyline australis, a relative of the Genus Dracaena, and a member of the family Agavaceae – the Agaves. Native to New Zealand, this species thrives in warm temperate to subtropical climates.
(Sorry but accidental touch of wrong key dispatched the last attempt to answer your question before we had completed the answer.) These members of the agave family can grow to 10-30 feet in a favourable climate, which is not Vancouver. If they grow straggly they can be pruned back to within 15cm of the ground and they will send out new growth. We suggest you try this, if the trunk is not mushy or rotten from the frost damage. Or you could simply prune down to healthy trunk tissue. In any case you probably do not need to dig up the plant or disturb your other plantings of bulbs and perenniels.
Wow, thanks for the info. It was just one of the spikes that are sold everywhere in the garden centres. I chopped the two smaller ones to the ground. They were not mushy at all. If I do that to the center one, should I put some fungicide on them or just leave it exposed? It really was too nice to remove, especially with the spotlight on it. I get lots of comments from the neighbours.
Cordy & palm talk: Info for BC residents Palm Nut: Regular Cordys (your pic) re-sprout if they are chopped or nuked after they are established. Just like Musa basjoo bananas. Many C. australis specimens died on the Lower Mainland and the Puget Sound area. In Victoria, few were damaged so the big ones in Victoria will most likely get a few feet taller this year. Mine are undamaged. The true Cordyline indivisa in Victoria did well during the outflow. Some of the largest Cordys in BC are located on Craigflower Street in Victoria. The tallest documented Cordys in BC are located on Salspring Island. They are 20 footers. The largest pinnate fronds from a palm tree in BC award goes to Saltspring. It’s the largest Jubaea in BC. But the upcoming Jub order destined for Vancouver may put Vancouver on the map as having the biggest Jub around. I think that the first banana shrubs in BC were planted on Saltspring. If I’m not mistaken the biggest banana grove in BC is located in Delta. -Musa basjoo of course. The tallest Waggie is located in Victoria. The tallest regular Trachy in BC is probably a battle between Oak Bay and Richmond. The highest concentration of Waggies in one garden goes to Victoria. The largest palm planting in BC goes to Vancouver’s English Bay. The densest grove of palms on Vancouver Island is located on a Kipling Street property in Victoria. The only bifurcated Trachy (very rare –only one other known in existence) in BC is located in Victoria. It’s on the Palm Trees of British Columbia website. Note: Cordys are faux palms. I remind Vancouver area gardeners to plant more palms in there awesome metropolitan area. If you’re new or unsure, start with a regular Trachy (Windmill palm). 5 gal or more in size. Cheers
I chopped off the top of the dracaena yesterday. Should I be putting some fungicide on it or something or do I just leave it exposed?
Just to say do not forget our wonderful native flora in British Columbia. I love seeing palms etc when I go south, way south, but sword ferns, arbutus, devil's club wow! we have such great plants in our local flora! Let's celebrate them too!
Palms in Vancouver It always suprises me when I hear that we should plant native plants and leave the palms to the south. I am glad however to hear Joan point out plants such as Arbutus and native ferns and not like others that refer to Azaleas and Flowering cherries as native. Why do so many have an issue with planting palms here, yet I never hear anyone complain about how many Rhodos and camellias are being planted? We live in a fantastic area for gardening and with our mild climate it enables us to grow many different species of plants, including many different palms. It would be boring seeing every garden planted with cedars, ferns, arbutus and birch. Vancouver gardeners should celebrate being able to plant many different plants. Imagine living in the artic!
I have a Dracaena spike palm (you know, the common one). Mine is blooming profusely as are all those I see on the Saanich Peninsula. Why is this happening? Is it a climatic thing? How can I best care for this plant. It is planted in a rock/cement form and has been here many years. We have lived here for 6 years and it has never bloomed previously.
