Tropical Garden #59

They are all beautiful, but I was surprised to find out Cordyline was Hawaiian Ti plant. I would never have guessed it. And this verigated stick I just got will be the same one I have I bet. Hhmmm.

Is the stick a red variegated? It would be neat if you got a green/white variegated to go with your red one :).

He had green too and asked if I wanted it too but I figured I'd like the colors better of the other ones so didn't get the green. BUT he is gonna send me some more stuff this spring / summer so I can get you one later if you like when he sends stuff again. I'll just ask for one then. He just moved to another house and his internet is down right now. Don't let me forget and remind me later.

That would be neat. That is the one used for cooking, plus it should be a pretty foliage plant (tree), too. It should be wide leaf like the red sister, not as thin like the festival grass. I think it is neat that you have a mystery ti :) I am interested in cordyline plants. I give them rainwater unless I am flushing the pot and hosing down leaves. They don't like fluorinated wawa. In the spring, I will probably sacrifice one stem of my red to see how easy it is to root the cane.

I have a lucky bamboo that I want to increase, too. It is a sentimental plant. It was my grandmothers plant, then I inherited it when..... It was in water and I planted it in dirt. It has 1 cane tall enough to propagate unless it is better to take a sprout from the base. Maybe it would be best to just water root a cutting. Do you know? My mom wanted a start of it. Well, I have to turn in, so until tomorrow...... g'night!

Well, I only ever rooted a couple before and it was in water. I let it die over winter before I got a greenhouse so this is my first time in years I'm rooting another. It is easy in water though. Just drop in and forget it. Takes a few weeks to root though. Got to keep it warm and light.
Good night and talk to ya later.

3jsmom31, this is the plant those Sundew flowers were on. However, I don't know which Drosera species it is.

mekos: Your Cordyline looks just like one I have also: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/266218/ I just figured it was one of the many hybrids on the market, haven't gotten an exact cultivar name for it.

I also have this Cordyline 'Kiwi': http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/266232/ When I first bought it the plant had a lot of vivid pink to the foliage. As it's gotten older and larger most of the pink has faded. Someone told me if I put it in more sun it would get pink again.

Those are beautiful Plantladylin. Mine was all red when I got it but as it grew it turned more colorful. It stays under a tree in shade but now it's in the greenhouse and I was also told that more sun would bring out more reds and shade would go greener with them. I was shocked they are considered the Hawaiian Ti plant. I guess because the Hawaiian Ti always had the cut stalk and this plant didn't. I guess that threw me off track. You know the corn plants how the sprouts grow out the stalk? That is the only way I ever saw the Hawaiian Ti plant grow. My other Cordyline is also red but has thin leaves- festival grass. It is pretty and dark burgandy colored. I need to check tomorrow to see if it is still alive. I forgot to bring it in the greenhouse. It's still out in ground but I did mulch it good in the fall, so maybe it will be ok. My Giant BOP is still planted in ground and is fine out there. I composted and mulched and hopefully they will be ok till spring. We have had nights down to the low 20's and hard frosts and days in the low 30's and so far so good.

Cordylines are so easy to grow from cuttings. I just put them in water and after a few days they have masses of new roots. But yes, they do need full sun to give the best colour. Don't know how low a temperature they'll take but I remember when I was trekking in the mountains in Papua New Guinea earlier this year I came across a lot of them in the wild. Mind you, whilst it doesn't get very hot in those mountains, it doesn't get very cold either.

Just recently I bought a couple of small ones with attractive colouring. When they get bigger I'll be getting a few cuttings from them. This is the smaller and lighter coloured of the two.

Cucurma australasica, called Native Ginger here. Dormant during the dry season, they're coming out now and flowering. They look great when you see them enmass.

The yellow flowers below the bracts.

Emerging inflorescence.

Beautiful pics tropic. I think I'll wait til spring to try rooting the cordyline/dracaena. I love the way they look, both the wide and narrow leaves. I don't know the sundew, but I love to see them. I'll go look through the pictures and see if I can find it. Is your plant a native, or from a nursery?

Dipodium stenocheilum is a leafless, saprophytic ground orchid. The inflorescence grows up 1.5 to 2 metres above the ground this time of year. They have an association with a fungus which feeds them.

3jsmom31, the Sundew is a native, our herbarium lists 14 of them as locals.

A close up of Dipodium stenocheilum.

tropic, I love the miniature Ti plants. I have several, including the one you are showing. I need to get serious propagating them. I have always done it in soil but will try the water rooting method next since you say it is so easy.

I put the cuttings in a plastic bag with some water that I change each day. The plastic bag also keeps the humidity around the leaves, which helps with our high temperatures. Once they have some decent roots they're potted up.

Tropic, is your native ginger also called Native Redback Ginger?

Don't think so. I've never heard it called that. In Queensland they call it Cape York Lily, but it's found right across the top of Australia, not just on Cape York. There are "Back Scratcher Gingers", they're Tapeinochilos sps and occur naturally in Indonesia, New Guinea and Queensland. But not here.

Thanks, I have seeds for Native Redback Ginger, just haven't sowed them yet and didn't know what the bloom would look like. But I love yours. That is nice!

Love that Dipodium orchid, that's a real beauty!

This is another Cordyline I have in a container, a cultivar called Red Star

Now that Cordyline looks like one I have in the yard and it said it was festival grass. I guess they are different but sure looks just like it. Only mine is a dark burgandy color.

IT'S ALIVE!!!!! I just went out to check on the Cordyline- Festival grass that I forgot and left outside and it is still kicking. Actually looked pretty good to have been through all the frosts and freezes we have already had, too. I guess I composted and mulched pretty good. My giant white Bird of Paradise is still kicking too. Got a new leaf trying to open up. WOW. I guess I need to take some newspapers and and a cardboard box out there and wrap the babies and cover them for the winter since They are trying so hard to hold on. Well, got to go for a while and do some work. Check back later.

There is a Cordyline Red Fountain that has the common name of "Festival Grass:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/148830/

It has a more droopy/drapey shape: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=festival+grass&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=EYI7S7b_HYiWtgfHlvT9CA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCIQsAQwAw


I sometimes wonder though ... is it kinda like the Codieum (Croton's) where different nurseries stick different names on the same ones?

mekos: I'd definitely try to cover any of those tropicals with something for the winter. We use old sheets/blankets down here. I know it gets a lot colder in your zone so I hope your plants will survive over winter. Maybe if you covered them with a light blanket and then put the cardboard box over top? But, then you would have to remove the wrappings once in awhile for them to receive some light and water I would think. Your Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise): http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2466/ is a tropical listed for zones 10 and higher. I'm in zone 9 and we have a neighbor who has a huge clump in his yard that are really large now. He planted them as small plants and was lucky we had quite a few years with mild winters and no frost or freezes or they would not have survived. Usually the Cordylines and Strelitzia (as with a lot of other tropicals) can't take too many nights below 20º - 30ºF. Heavy mulching may keep the roots from freezing, and covering the tender foliage may help minimize foliage damage.

Can you use Christmas lights on cold nights along with some kind of cover?

The colorful cultivars of Cordyline fruticosa are not Hawaiian Ti, but are of garden origin.

Below is the typical Ti plant which the Hawaiians introduced to Hawai'i.

OK, this means my cordylines and Hawaiian Ti plants are NOT the same thing, right?

3jsmom31, I am like you, I usually remember things later when it's too late. When you mentioned Cordyline Southern splendor, I knew that you had it right. The plant under it is a Variegated Dancing Flame Salvia.

mekos, my variegated Chalice Vine has never bloomed as well, the foliage makes up for it though.
I'm glad to hear that your Cordeline Fstival grass is still alive. I have been using old sleeping bags to cover my tender plants with. So far so good.
noid fern

plantladylin, I like that you always attach a link to your post. My first cordyline were sticks from a friend that thought they would never grow, now they are 4 ft. tall.
You do have beautiful Cordylines and Orchids.
I have his noid orchid blooming. My only vanda died.

Tropicbreeze
Metrosideros, you guys rock!!!
Along with all your Great pictures, I appreciate your knowledge and love of plants.

Christmas present, RARe Thai variegated yellow banana plant

This message was edited Dec 30, 2009 7:01 PM

Well, I had been bringing everything inside the greenhouse but soon the white BOP will be too big for me to bring in so I decided to plant it outside in ground and compost a lot and mulch it a lot and cover it up and hope for the best. If it dies, well it would eventually anyway when I couldn't lift it to bring it in so got to try now with it's roots deep in ground and just see if it will be ok. After composting and mulching I raked leaves and totally covered it with them and mulched again and figured before we get snow or real freezing for a few days at a time I would go wrap newspapers around the top and cover with a box. That should protect it. I guess we will see.

Mekos: Cordyline is the Genus: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/b/Agavaceae/Cordyline/none/cultivar/0/ I think the names "Ti" and "Hawaiian Good Luck Plant" are common names given to all the many different hybrids and types of Cordylines. http://www.hear.org/starr/plants/images/species/?q=cordyline+australis

I remember back in the early 70's there was a fad going around where everyone was buying these little short "sticks"/"stalks" of what was being sold as "Good Luck Plant" - they were pieces of Dracaena sanderiana: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/38172/ which has the common name of "Lucky Bamboo" and it's not actually a bamboo at all! It gets really confusing with so many plants that are not even related having the same common name.

prita: Thanks! I think some people don't like me giving so many links but when I find something interesting I like to share. ^_^

Your orchid is really a beauty! I love the color on that one! I've never tried the Vanna's, I remember someone telling me they were a bit difficult.

Thank you and forgive me you guys, I get confused sometimes. Thanks for the links, it sure helps me and I appreciate having a way to find things because I'm so new on computers, I don't know how to do all that stuff. I'd never find stuff without help from you nice people. I just love looking at your plants, I know I'll never get to go see any anywhere else and these are just a bit of heaven for me.

mekos, can you get a division so you will still have the plant if something happens? I know what you mean about lugging too big of a plant, back years ago, I started a store pineapple top and grew it until it was just too big for my growing space (and it was mean, too). Well, I sent the plant with my grandparents to Florida. Now 20 years later, I started another. I dunno what I was thinking, lol. Well, yeah, I was trying to teach the kids about the different ways that plants reproduce themselves. Sorry if I misidentified the cordyline fruticosa 'Ti plant'. Every article I've read refers to them as Ti plant, so I thought they were. Even if they end up both being cordyline fruticosa, it may not be the same cultivar, with so many available.

Prita: I went looking for southern splendor cordyline, and it looks like its gonna be on my wish list for now, kind of hard to find :) I think your plantings are really attractive. I'll have to keep the salvia in mind, too :). Pretty banana.

Tropic, I had to quit looking at the Drosera because I started drooling and it was just too much. So I looked at my plant shelves instead, then we went to collect some firewood so I was distracted finally, until now :).

3Jsmom, hey I appreciate your help. I just got an education on something I know nothing about and I'm happy. I grew some pineapple tops too and got baby pineapples from them. You have to have more than one to pollinate them and they must be 18 months old or there about to make a baby. I think mine was about 2 when the baby came along. They are cute to mess with. I have some puyas now going. I'm getting a little afraid of them when they get too big for me to mess with because they are like yuccas with swords sticking out all around. I'll probably get stuck to death, but I want to see them bloom. I have several colors and seeds for a lot of them. Haha Anyone want a seed trade?????LOL

If I lived in zone 10 or 11 I would have a yard full of the Hawaiian Ti plants! Some of them have really gorgeous colors! Scroll down this page and check out some of these beauties! http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kipapanursery.com/ti_plant2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kipapanursery.com/hybrid_ti.htm&usg=__3BXncPHpWNIOgDbgaTY6H1wwqfY=&h=209&w=164&sz=22&hl=en&start=21&um=1&tbnid=TtV4ijQT-In7xM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHawaiian%2BTi%2Bplant%2Bimages%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1 Oh, I wish I lived in the Tropics!

OH MY WORD! those are beautiful. WOW!!!!!. I still believe I'm suppose to be living in a tropical paradise. OH man!