I believe Cardamine and Euphorbia are spot on, thank you! Now my question is, are either of them detrimental to the health of the Cordy? I don't actually want to get rid of either purposely, I think they look pretty interesting together. I'd just leave them if I could.

Seeds I have to trade: Mixed Hybrid sunflowers purple castor bean (lots) new zealand purple castor bean canna seeds windmill palm seeds ( from last year im not sure if they will still germinate) Seeds I am looking for: fatsia japonica Lophophora diffusa green cator bean Cardinal Vine purple hyacinth bean Helianthus sunspots (variegated sunflower) Maize quadricolour Nicotiana tabacum variegatum Amaranth coleus Amaranthus early splendor,Illumination, love lies bleeding and others large french marigolds (im open for other interesting seeds) Plants I have to trade: canna indica purpurea canna indica canna Wyoming green elephant ear black stem elephant ear castor bean seedlings opuntia humifus (easter prickley pear) Opuntia engelmannii pink ice plant purple queen callisia fragrans cow tongue cactus strawberry plants pindo palm seedling Plants I am looking for: Araucaria araucana aka monkey puzzle tree Helianthus sunspots (variegated sunflower) alocasia macrorrhiza canna australia canna intigue canna pretoria (aka bengal tiger aka tropicanna gold) canna stuttgart canna tropicanna (aka phasion) colocasia black magic colocasia black runner colocasia esculenta 'black coral' colocasia esculenta 'diamond head' colocasia esculenta 'kona coffee colocasia thai giant cordyline torbay dazzler ensete hibiscus kopper king monkey puzzle tree musa ae ae musa siam ruby musa zebrina (blood banana) spanish moss staghorn summac (tiger eyes) thunbergera alata xanthosoma lime zinger im open for other trades also

I live in the UK and see Cordyline australis everywhere. Indivisa isn't so common though, I know there are some in very wet parts of the UK like some gardens in Northern Ireland and Devon. Occasionally we have a cold winter and there's a mass die off inland, but it's no big deal really. Most come back very strongly from the roots, especially if they were a large, mature plant before they died in the winter they reach their former size in a couple of years and come back very fast from a strong root system with fresh, new growth. What actually kills them is when you see well-meaning but misguided people wrapping them up in winter with bubble wrap and frost fleece. It's the worst thing to do in my opinion, these things hate to be soaking wet in winter and the frost protection people put round them just makes them rot. I don't protect my ones that are in the ground. If they die back they dieback, the soil doesn't freeze deep enough in Britain to kill them in most cases. Container ones i just put in a cold greenhouse to keep them from dying from the damp of winter which is the real cause of death. I have noticed a lot of variation in the plants grown here. Some are very narrow leaved, but mature plants are usually wide leaved, not sure if the leaves get wider over time or different varieties are tougher. I suspect the narrow leaved plants are the "Atlantic green" variety whereas the wider leaved ones are generic australis with maybe some indivisa introgression, although according to something i read somewhere the narrow leaved varieties are meant to be hardier. I've also never seen a mature, large plant of the red, pink or variegated varieties though i know some examples exist, they're probably less hardy and were perhaps selected from stock from the North island.

Greencroc, You have generated a most interesting and varied discussion on one of my favorite subjects. I have been growing Cordylines for several years, a few Aust. natives and about 300 fruticosa varieties and have a different favorite each week. They love fertilizer and your application seems fine.I use Organic Xtra and Seasol mixed with Fungicide as foliar spray, kills 2 birds with one stone. I now have the CD that Andrew & Silvercargo mentioned. The photos are magnificent and infomation invaluable. I got mine through "The International Tropical Foliage and Garden Society". I have noticed that my Cordylines are still producing Winter coloured leaves, most unusual for this time of year. Is it just mine or are they doing it all over? Reg.