Cordyline australis Design a Line Burgundy

Cordyline australis Design a Line Burgundy is a very elegant variety with very thin and long, sword-shaped, reddish-brown to bronze-purple leaves, more intense under the rays of the sun. This large perennial plant with a shrubby habit resembles a small palm tree with long slightly arched leaves. It occasionally blooms in summer, with large fragrant panicles of mauve-lavender flowers that remain decorative for a long time. This magnificent, exotic looking plant benefits from a fairly good hardiness, down to -8/-10°C in well-drained soil.

Cordyline australis is a tree-like perennial plant of the Asparagaceae family, endemic to New Zealand. In the wild, this plant reaches a height of 20 m and forms a robust trunk that branches into numerous leafy heads that can reach 1 m long. The cordyline is found in very diverse habitats, such as forest edges, riverbanks, and open areas, especially near marshes.

The Design a Line Burgundy variety was selected by Malcolm Woolmore at Lyndale Nursery in Whenuapai, New Zealand. It is the result of a cross between Cordyline pumilio and Cordyline banksii. It is compact and slow-growing with remarkably colourful foliage. The plant forms a rosette in its juvenile state (for several years), then it forms a small tree with a single trunk and branches adorned with leafy tufts. This variety will reach 1 to 1.50 m high, with a spread of 1m. Its evergreen leaves are long and narrow, sword-shaped, pointed and slightly arched, 40 to 90 cm long and 3 to 7 cm wide at the base. Flowering occurs in summer on mature plants. Each stem can branch out once it has produced a floral stem. The small lavender-coloured, nectar-rich and delicately scented flowers are borne on large dense panicles measuring 60 to 100 cm long. The fruit is a white round berry measuring 5 to 7 mm in diameter, loved by birds. On mature plants, the pale grey to dark grey bark, with a corky and fissured appearance, is spongy to the touch.

The Design a Line Burgundy Cordyline is hardier than some other varieties and tolerates frost down to -8/-10°C under good growing conditions, i.e. in a warm location, in the sun, sheltered from cold north winds, in well-drained soil. It is resistant to winds that are not icy and sea spray and is well suited to coastal areas. It particularly appreciates Atlantic and Mediterranean climates. Plant it in the centre of a bed, as a small specimen tree, or as a standalone plant. You can also grow it in a pot, especially useful if you want to protect it in winter in a conservatory. In a pot, it will need feeding and watering. It gives an exotic look to the terrace or garden, and its sculptural silhouette pairs well with the King Protea and Dasylirion glaucophyllum to enhance the exoticism, or with Pseudopanax Ferox, bamboos, and giant miscanthus in a garden with modern lines.