By Dolphie
Gloucestershire,
United Kingdom
my cordyline australis is about 10 years old and approx 10/12 ft tall, the top leaves are all dead apart from one clump and it is sprouting new leaves around the trunk about 2 ft from the base, the top I must say looks dead advice please
31 Oct, 2010
Probably old damage from the big freeze last winter. Don't do anything about it now, except to prepare to fleece what remains alive--including the living branch and trunk--if more big frosts arrive this winter, as long range predictions imply. Prune off all the dead stuff, and maybe thin out some of the crowded new rosettes, early next summer. A light feeding with Growmore next spring will speed recovery.
1 Nov, 2010