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Cheshire, United Kingdom Gb

Hi, my 12 year old cordyline (now 6ft) was weighed down with snow and the top part that grows is now bent at 90 degrees. Due to its weight, it seems unlikely that it will be able to hold itself up again. Shall i cut the bent part off and will it survive. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your help

I cut the plant back to 1 foot in March 2010 and now I have 5 new shoots! - shall I remove the old trunk?




Answers

 

mines have suffered the same fate and like you I am wondering what to do for the best so I will await any suggestions that you hopefully get.sorry i cannot help

22 Jan, 2010

 

Hi Mike.....reading your question again...I gather the stem is bent at 90degs? If this is the case, yes I would cut it off, you could then cover the tip with fleece or bubble wrap tied round the cut area so frost doesn't kill the whole plant. In Spring hopefully it will send out new growth from there.

22 Jan, 2010

 

Yes, the stem hasn't just been bent over by the weight of snow (which wouldn't happen), it is the long spell of intense cold that has destroyed the tissue in the stem. Shrubby monocotyledon's (which Cordylines are) don't have normal wood tissue like dicotyledons. Their stems are made of diffuse interwoven bundles of growth tissue and transport tubes for water and minerals separated by starchy material unlike the annually growing rings of dicotyledons that produce true wood. Once damaged by intense cold (ice crystals), it collapses having lost the turgidity that partly kept it upright.

The lower part of the stem often shoots freely from the base so don't remove it yet. Remember, the large rootball will want to replace it's former canopy quite quickly and any new basal shoots will grow much faster than replanting a new one. Leave it until at least the end of June.

22 Jan, 2010

 

ps I'm just copying and pasting this reply to all the Cordyline questions from the first one I answered as the answer is the same for all.

22 Jan, 2010

 

Thanks very much for your help

25 Jan, 2010

How do I say thanks?

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