Cordyline australis - Cabbage Tree

Cordyline australis, in Latin Dracaena australis, is an arboreal plant that is quite exotic, elegantly expressing the charm of the antipodes. It resembles a small palm tree with long leaves grouped in tufts. During summer months, mature specimens produce immense panicles of white-cream and fragrant flowers that remain decorative for a long time. This beautiful plant likes sandy soils and sea breezes. In the ground, it should be reserved for coastal climate. Elsewhere, it can be cultivated in a large pot, to adorn the veranda or even the house in bad weather. 

Cordyline australis is an arborescent perennial plant of the Agavaceae family endemic to New Zealand. In nature, this plant reaches a height of 20 m (65.6 ft) and forms a robust trunk that branches into numerous leafy-headed branches that can reach 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. Cordyline is found in very diverse habitats, such as forest edges, riverbanks, and open areas, particularly near marshes.

The plant has a rosette-like leafy habit in its juvenile state (for several years), then it forms a small tree with a single trunk and branches adorned with leafy tufts. In the ground, in coastal gardens, it will slowly reach a height of 5 m to 6 m (16.4 ft to 19.7 ft), with a spread of 2 m (6.6 ft). In pots, it will rarely exceed a height of 2 m (6.6 ft), with a crown reaching 1 m (3.3 ft) in spread, and will probably never flower. Its evergreen leaves are long and narrow, sword-shaped, pointed, slightly arched, and wider for older leaves. They measure 40 cm to 90 cm (15.7 in to 35.4 in) in length and 3 cm to 7 cm (1.2 in to 2.7 in) in width at the base. Flowering occurs in summer, on mature plants. Each branch can grow out once it has produced a floral stem. The small white, sweetly scented flowers are grouped in small rosettes and borne on large dense panicles measuring 60 cm to 100 cm (23.6 in to 39.4 in) in length. The fruit, a white and round berry, is highly appreciated by birds. On mature plants, the trunk bark is grey, cork-like in appearance, and fissured, with a spongy touch. Cordyline australis is a slow-growing but very long-lived plant.

Resistant to wind and sea spray, it is a good plant for coastal areas and is often found in municipal gardens. Cordyline australis can be planted in the centre of a flower bed, used as a row tree, as a windbreak, or isolated in a temperate garden. It can withstand brief frosts of around -5° C to -7° C (23° F to 19.4° F). It can be grown in large pots, which should be moved indoors in winter. In pots, pay attention to watering and fertilisation. This remarkable plant, like banana trees, proteas, cannas, Grevillea, bamboo, giant miscanthus, or castor oil plants, will give a truly exotic aspect to gardens and terraces. It forms beautiful flowering hedges, both highly ornamental and effective in protecting the garden from the wind.