Description of the distinctive features of cordilina, growing conditions, breeding steps, pest and disease control, facts for the curious, species. Cordyline has been classified by botanical scientists into the category of False palms, belonging to the genus Dracaena of the Agavaceae family. The plant has a long lifespan and represents decorative deciduous specimens of nature that can be found in the territory of Asian countries, and they are also not uncommon on the Australian and African continents, in the lands of America, wherever tropical and subtropical climates dominate. However, the true homeland of the Cordilina is considered to be the same climatic conditions in India and New Zealand. In the above genus, there are up to 15 varieties of this representative of the plant world of the planet, with colorful leaves.
Cordilins in natural conditions are large spreading plants, parameters, the height of which is measured by several meters (sometimes up to 15 meters). When this false palm is grown in a home environment, its growth rate is rather slow, and successful growth can only be ensured when a lot of space is provided for the plant and the level of light, watering and humidity is properly maintained. For the exquisite and bright color of the foliage, it is popularly called the "royal tree". However, the scientific term for the name comes from the word "kordylle", which translates as "bump" or "knot", as this perfectly characterizes the appearance of the roots of the false palm, as they have pineal and nodular outlines, as if speckled with swellings.
Unlike its close "relative" dracaena, the root system of cordilina is represented by whitish tubers, while in dracaena their color is orange with yellow and the surface of the root system is smooth. The plant has the contours of a simple or weakly branched tree, in which the trunk diameter is rather small, but the height indicators can vary within 2-3 meters. If we consider the stem, it is clearly seen that the places of attachment of the leaf plates in its upper part are denser than at the base. The length of the leaf plates reaches 50–80 cm (occasionally up to a meter) with a total width varying in the range of 5–10 cm. In shape, the leaves can grow oval, lanceolate, with saber-shaped or narrow-linear contours, but there is a significant narrowing at the base of the cutting. the very apex of the leaf also decreases, forming a sharpening. The edge changes depending on the variety, jagged edges are visible on it, or the edge is even. It is this part that tends to dry out over time. Often (and especially if the conditions of detention are violated), foliage in the lower part of the stem can fly around. When the latter thickens with age, lignifies and becomes bare, it becomes clear why the plant is often called a false palm - it is quite similar to it.
Cordilina is called the "royal tree" precisely for the color of the leaves. They can take as a usual rich emerald tint, which is the main background, but along the edge and on the entire surface in different variations there are scarlet, all shades of red, white, yellowish and purple. To date, breeders have bred varieties in which pink and burgundy shades appear on the leaves in the form of a background. If there are stripes on the leaf blade, then they are always located along the edge. When the time of flowering comes, a rather nondescript-looking flowers with petals of a white or lilac shade are formed. They are of no interest to flower growers against the background of foliage. However, when grown indoors, the buds of cordilina are almost never tied. After the flowers are pollinated in nature, the fruits ripen, which grow in the form of berries with a red peel.
How to create conditions for cordilina, flower care?
- Lighting and site selection. Since in the conditions of natural growth, this false palm settles in the southern forests, then for indoor cultivation, bright, but diffused lighting is recommended. In winter, it is recommended to install cordilin closer to the window that faces the south side, and in the spring-summer months the plant will be comfortable in the east or west. If during this period the pot with the variegated beauty will be on the windowsill of the southern location, then shading is required - thin paper (tracing paper) is glued to the glass or gauze curtains are hung.
- Content temperature. Since cordilina reacts very poorly to fluctuations in heat indicators in the room, in spring and summer days it is required to maintain the temperature within 20-25 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn it is recommended to reduce it to 5-10 units. However, it should be borne in mind that the apical cordilina variety feels comfortable with heat indicators slightly above 18 degrees. The plant is afraid of drafts.
- Air humidity when nursing in rooms, it is kept taking into account the climate in nature where the "royal tree" grows. Since this is a tropical or subtropical zone, it is necessary to carry out regular spraying of leaf plates with warm and soft water in the summer.
- General care behind the cordilina it is carried out constantly and is one of the important conditions for maintenance, since oxygen must be available to the root system, then periodic loosening of the earth crust is performed.
- Watering. In the spring and summer months, moisten the potted substrate so that it is always slightly damp and never dry out. Use only soft and warm water.
- Fertilizers for the "royal tree" they are brought in in the spring-summer period once every 2 weeks, and in the winter period only once a month. Apply any feeding of the complete mineral complex.
- Soil and Cordilina transplant. Young plants should be replanted annually during the spring months. When the "royal tree" grows up, then such an operation is carried out every 2-3 years, but if it is difficult because of the size, then only 3-4 cm of the top soil in the pot is changed.
The substrate for transplantation needs a nutritious one with a slightly acidic reaction (pH = 6). You can take a soil mixture for agave or compose it yourself from equal parts of leafy soil, peat, river coarse sand and with the addition of 3 parts of garden soil.
Rules for breeding cordilina at home
To get a new plant of a false palm, seeds are sown, an overgrown rhizome is divided or cuttings are carried out.
Seeds are sown in February-March in soil consisting of turf and sand (1: 1). The seeds should be freshly harvested, as they quickly lose their germination, however, sometimes you can see cordilina seeds on sale, which means this is not always a true statement. Before sowing, the seed is soaked in zircon or epine. The seeds are distributed over the substrate placed in a container, and they arrange a mini-greenhouse, wrapping the container with polyethylene. The temperature during germination is maintained at 25–27 degrees and lower soil heating is desirable. After a month from planting, you can see the first shoots. When they grow up, they dive into separate pots with a more fertile substrate.
When dividing the rhizome in the spring, the plant is removed from the pot, and it is divided into parts. Plots are planted in light soil - sod land, river sand, leafy substrate, with the addition of humus or peat soil, in a ratio of 1: 1: 3: 3. When a root is formed in a young cordilina, they are transplanted into ordinary soil.
When grafting, semi-lignified cuttings from the tops of shoots or stem parts are used. Each cut workpiece is divided into parts so that each of them has 1–4 nodes and is at least 10 cm long. The leaves are removed. During rooting, they maintain a heat of about 30 degrees. They are planted in a substrate, as when planting parts of the rhizome. However, apical cuttings can form roots in water with the addition of a root stimulant. A month later, they are transplanted into another soil, described when dividing the rhizome.
Diseases and pests of cordilina
When the plant is very young, harmful insects can attack it, since the young foliage is tender and soft. Among them are thrips, aphids, mealybugs, scale insects. When pests appear, formations in the form of a sticky plaque, cotton-like whitish lumps, brown plaques on the back of the leaf plate are visible on the foliage and stems. The leaves wither, turn yellow, look damaged, then they deform, dry out and reset. To combat these insects and their eggs, insecticides and acaricides of a wide spectrum of action are used. But before that, the leaves are wiped with soap, oil or alcohol solutions.
Since cordilina is practically not susceptible to diseases, then all the problems that arise in one way or another are associated with a violation of the growing conditions of the plant. Among them are:
- if the tops and edge of the leaves become brown, then this is evidence that the plant was exposed to a draft, there is dry air in the room or watering is insufficient;
- in the case when the temperature indicators are below the permissible level or the plant is in a draft, the foliage becomes soft and its entire surface is covered with a dark spot;
- when cordilina is in direct sunlight, it will inevitably lead to sunburn, which will manifest itself in the form of dry spots on the leaves;
- the leaf plates turn yellow and dry out, in the case when the plant lacks nutrition, but if the leaves fly around only in the lower part of the trunk, then this is a natural process for cordilina;
- if the "royal tree" is kept at low heat levels and often the substrate is exposed to bays, then this will quickly destroy the false palm.
Things to note about cordiline
To distinguish cordilina and dracaena at first glance, one has only to look at the leaves of these representatives of the flora. In the latter, all the veins on the leaf plate are parallel to each other, and in the cordilina, the central vein is clearly visible, from which all the others originate. If the plant is already being extracted from the soil, then these two representatives of the Agavov family also differ in the color of the root: in the dracaena on the fracture, the root has a yellowish-orange tint, while in the cordilina this color is whitish.
If we talk about the use of cordilina, then its southern variety is highly appreciated due to the fibrous trunk and roots, which are used as raw materials for making ropes in those areas, and fabrics can be successfully produced from sheet plates, and not only. The stiffness of the fibers makes excellent brushes and mats.
Since ancient times, the juice of the "royal tree" has been known to traditional healers for its anti-infective properties. If parts of this cordilina variety are cooked, they become edible due to their high carbon content. This dish has been quite revered by the Maori tribes for eight centuries and is an important source of nutrition. This was proved after excavations on the Otago Peninsula, which made it possible to assert the use of southern cordilina in cooking. In those places, rather large pits (reaching a width of 7 m) were discovered, which are used as ovens for preparing the plant and are called umu-ti. After the bundles of young cordilina shoots were baked, they were dried for a couple of days in the bright sun, and in such a form as a semi-finished product, the blanks of the "royal tree" could be stored for several years.
During the occupation of Batum by Britain in 1919-1920, the local administration decided to issue its own stamps, which depicted southern cordilina, the thickets of this plant that filled the outskirts of the city.
Types of cordilina
Cordilina shrub (Colrdyline fruticosa) can be found under the name of Cordilina apical (Colrdyline terminalis). In the people, the plant is called "the tree of luck". The most popular type in indoor floriculture, featuring a large number of varietal varieties. It is a perennial, with time a lignified stem and rhizome with tuberous contours. The tree can take on parameters in height of 3 m, and sometimes this variety is found in the form of a half-shrub with a stem reaching only 1.5 cm in diameter. If the plant is grown in a room setting, then it remains small for a long time with foliage starting right from the base of the trunk. The surface of the trunk is smooth, but over time it is decorated with scars from fallen leaves. Basically, the trunk is single, but sometimes it divides spontaneously, therefore it got the form of the second name - shrub.
The leaf plates take on broad-lanceolate, oblong or oblong-ovoid outlines. In the widest part, when measured, the leaf blade reaches 10 cm. In length, the size can vary in the range of 50–80 cm. The apex is mainly with a strong sharpening. The leaf is attached to the stem by means of a petiole in the form of a groove, which grows up to 10-15 cm in length. In the middle of the leaf plate, a central plump depressed vein is clearly visible, from which the rest extend.
The color of the foliage is dark green in color, which serves as a background; a border from a light pinkish shade to a deep maroon color can go along the edge. Longitudinal stripes can be the same.
The native habitat is in the states located in the Indian Ocean basin, therefore this variety of cordilina is very sensitive to moisture and light levels.
Southern Cordilina (Colrdyline australis) is also called Australian Cordilina. In nature, it is a tree, the height of which reaches 20 meters. The barrel has a thickening at the bottom. The crown of leaf plates is dense, since almost all of them are collected at the top of the trunk in the form of a bundle. It is because of this species that the plant is popularly called the "Cornish palm", "Torbey palm" or "the palm of the Isle of Man". Traveler, explorer and British Navy captain James Cook called this variety the "cabbage tree" due to the fact that the leaves are used as food during heat treatment.
The leaf plates are narrow, xiphoid, because of this, the plant is often confused with dracaena. The length of the leaf is measured at 40–90 cm, with a width varying within 3–7 cm. Usually the foliage is painted in a rich emerald tint in the central part there is a longitudinal strip of a lighter color. Subspecies have already been bred, which have a pattern of narrow, multiple stripes of red and yellowish tones running along them.
When blooming, flowers appear with creamy white petals, which have a fragrant aroma, which open only 1 cm across. There are three pairs of petals in the bud. From the flowers, large inflorescences of paniculate outlines are collected, which can reach a length of half a meter to a meter. The ripening fruit has the shape of a berry, whitish in color with a diameter of 5-7 mm.
How to care for cordilina at home, see below:
