My first query I live in the Midlands in the U.K. Three years ago I bought one phormium plant, liked the look of it, and decided to buy three more. But when I got them home I found they were labeled 'Cordyline'. They looked the same then, and they look the same now, but are about 6ft (1.8metres) high, and two of them have small offshoots seeming to come either from the bottom of their trunks or maybe they are like suckers. They are the same form as the parent plant and about 10inches (25cm) high. Can I break these off and grow new ones? Are Phormiums and Cordylines the same type of plants? Excuse my ignorance but would quite like to have an answer. David Ellis
Yes,you can, more on propagation: http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2002/archives/2002/in_the_garden/flowering_plants_and_shrubs2/cordylines No they are not: http://www.crocus.co.uk/feature/cordylines/
Thanks for your reply. 'http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/200...bs2/cordylines' gives a timing of October to February.....but this appears to be relative to Australia....should I be thinking of spring and early summer to try to do this propagation?? David Ellis
If the leaves are narrow, strap-like, it may be Dracaena marginata. Can be propagated fom stem cutings or by dividing the clutser.
You've got cordylines and you won't be able to split them apart. Phormiums do not have trunks. Cordylines (New Zealand cabbage trees, cabbage palms) are actual trees. In suitable climates they develop massive lower trunks. You are probably getting sprouting down low from being in Midlands, colder than coastal areas and therefore marginal for these. Here (Seattle) they most often grow a trunk for awhile and then freeze back and start over from the bottom.
