Which Cordyline fruticosas Are the Hardiest?

Dypsisdean

Dypsisdean

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Big Island of Hawaii - Kona
How about compiling a list of the Ti Plants that show some potential for growing well in marginal climates? I know I had real good luck with what I was told was 'Black Magic.' There was one solid black plant, and one that had some small amount of red streaking in it. Both tolerated my coastal SoCal climate well.

What are some others? Photos for proof would be nice. Shifty
 
Black Magic is a great performer and always looks good in the cooler temps as well as the high temps. I also have the two with one having the solid black leaf and the one with the streaks of color. Both are rather slow growers, and have a habit of branching at ground level. Here is the streaky color plant. Img_5114.jpg
 

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Here is the solid color form, growing a few feet away from the streaky form. Img_5123.jpg
 
Scott Mcintosh said:
Black Magic is a great performer and always looks good in the cooler temps as well as the high temps. I also have the two with one having the solid black leaf and the one with the streaks of color. Both are rather slow growers, and have a habit of branching at ground level. Here is the streaky color plant.View attachment 26433
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Is this the same as Pink Majic? It looks different. Pink Majic also appears to be a sport of Black Magic.
 

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Auntie Lou is a rugged ti plant that stands sun even in Southern California. It looks good all winter and can color up to a brilliant solid red.
This picture was taken in Kona.
 

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tropicalken said:
Is this the same as Pink Majic? It looks different. Pink Majic also appears to be a sport of Black Magic.
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Ken, I have a plant that I purchased as Pink Majic and a ground sport that came from one of my Black Magic's. After doing some research and looking at photo's I believe that Pink Majic is a newer name that is now placed on Iris Bannochie. I will get a photo for you of my Pink Majic.
 
tropicalken said:
Auntie Lou is a rugged ti plant that stands sun even in Southern California. It looks good all winter and can color up to a brilliant solid red.
This picture was taken in Kona.
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I would put Auntie Lou in my top favorites. The solid red coloring is great and she can handle the cold and the summer heat here.
 
Scott Mcintosh said:
Ken, I have a plant that I purchased as Pink Majic and a ground sport that came from one of my Black Magic's. After doing some research and looking at photo's I believe that Pink Majic is a newer name that is now placed on Iris Bannochie. I will get a photo for you of my Pink Majic.
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I wonder if the Majic part is a misspelling by someone, or was spelled that way on purpose? Here's a picture I found on the internet.
Pink Majic ti.jpg
 
The common one they now sell in Home Depot that has largely replaced Red Sister is called Florica or Florida. I've seen it labeled both ways. One is probably a mistake. This cultivar is also extremely cold resistant, unlike Red Sister. It colors up brilliantly.
Florica or Florida cordyline.jpg
 
tropicalken said:
The common one they now sell in Home Depot that has largely replaced Red Sister is called Florica or Florida. I've seen it labeled both ways. One is probably a mistake. This cultivar is also extremely cold resistant, unlike Red Sister. It colors up brilliantly.View attachment 26453
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I have also had great results with Florica/Florida. And I have also seen it labeled both ways here.
 
Dypsisdean said:
I have not been able to determine a common theme as to what is hardy and what is not. Anyone else good at predicting what will do well and what will struggle in cooler climes?
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Not me. The coloring or leaf size seem to have nothing to do with the hardiness from what I have noticed.
 
The best green and yellow streaked variety that show no change in cold weather is Una Poa. The others in this color range seem to really go downhill in our winters and take a long time to recover when it warms up.
 
I just bought a "Florida"..and I had it in light shade,then put in full sun a few days ago since I see them always grown that way on programs about moving to the tropics (Home Hunters International) after years of thinking of them as shade plants.
Is full coastal California sun best?

If you say its that hardy..I might get a couple more.
 
Stan, I would call them sun plants, or at the very least 50/50 - but I didn't have much luck with them in full shade in SoCal, and try to put them in at least 50/50 here - but I am in a very cloudy location.
 
My Florida ti plants are in areas of a couple hours of sun to areas where the receive the sun most of the day. In both areas they will color up quite well. Florida is very hardy in Southern California, so you will have no trouble with it. I would watch it when placing new plants outdoors. Most have been in shady conditions. If you don't slowly adapt them to high light, often the leaves will burn. This is the rule for areas farther inland such as the Pasadena area where I live. Nearer the coast you may not have the burning problem since there is a lot more overcast and higher humidity.
 
Tropical Ken and Dean, when you get those offshore heat waves in soucal- does Florida hold up? We are expecting near 90f by Monday for a couple of days..the usual bay area heat wave before the Pacific fog ends that. Should I move Florida?..its potted.
 
Stan, I have very little experience with Ti Plants in SoCal, and I was directly on the coast with a lot of canopy when I was there - so I can't give you much solid info on that. But I think they are fairly tough plants, and I would just make sure they have water, and maybe a soaking of the entire plant with water because I think they can pic up moisture from the stem as well as the roots.
 
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Xerox is another outstanding Ti for handling the cold.
Img_5695.jpg
 
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Nice Xerox Scott.

Stan - As Dean said, ti plants are very tough plants. I have had no problems with them during our heat waves as long as they have enough water. That applies to all plants during our Santa Ana winds and accompanying heat.
 
wow--You were right..93f and full sun,and they had no sunburn. I had the pot sitting in a saucer with water so lack of water wouldn't cause problems. Not even burned edges.
Really, ALL these years..I took them as shade plants. No wonder they seemed slow And,they were in snail habitat those years.
 
Stan said:
wow--You were right..93f and full sun,and they had no sunburn. I had the pot sitting in a saucer with water so lack of water wouldn't cause problems. Not even burned edges.
Really, ALL these years..I took them as shade plants. No wonder they seemed slow And,they were in snail habitat those years.
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That is one downside to Ti Plants - the snails/slugs can devastate them in a day or two if you are not attentive. The other thing is that in marginal climates those shade environments during winter are much to cool to keep them happy.
 
Here in Central FL they have the best color when they can receive 2-4 hrs of summer sun or in a filtered sun condition. Winter months they do fine in full sun conditions.
 
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