Hi Toni,

Is that those "spike" plants that you see in garden centers for height in an outdoor containerthat few only a few bucks? That big one you like, wow, is that expencive!

If it is the same plant, I had one that was over-wintered for four years in the garage, then because of room issues, I let the follwoing winter take it.
There is one in my garage now (GREEN) that I have had for two years that's planted in with some geraniums.The Geraniums I have had for 4-5 years or more.
The spike is around I think 3' tall. When it was first bought, it was maybe 8".

Keep the spike cool and water when soil is dry. I don't feed them in winter since they are inactive. As soon as it warms enough to go outside, I'll start fertilizing it again.

Billy Rae

Toni,

I like the red ones, yes, they do look a little fuller, more open. I'll have to take a picture of the one in the garage. It does perfectly fine wintering over in a north window. In the fall before the first frost, it was brought in and lost maybe 4-5 leaves that had yellowed do to the light change, but it does great otherwise.I'm sure some of the garage humidity doesn't hurt! Brown tips can be more of a problem in warm rooms.

The 4 yr old was 3'-4' ft I think. The pot size? I honestly can't remember, maybe 8"-10" size.
I wondered how tall it would have gotten if I kept it, or if that was as tall as it was going to grow.
That one was in it's own pot. The pot size maybe 8". It didn't need a huge pot because the roots weren't that huge.It withstood the cold for a while, then they all turned brown and that was that! I plan on keeping this one. I felt really guilty letting the first one perish like that.

If you want to use an all purpose, that should be fine, the plant shouldn't lose any color, as long as it has good light in the summer.

When mine is outside, it gets about two hrs of sun, the rest of the time it's in bright shade. If I remember, I'll snap a picture of it.

I'll have to keep an eye out for the red one, that one is a nice color, maybe combine the green and red one together.Oh yes, a variegated (corty) would be real nice!!! Maybe the plant people will be working on creating one! I'll buy it!

Most of the plants I buy are perennials, so I don't have to over-winter them, but yes, there are some nice annuals that can be over-wintered and last for years.

Billy Rae

Here is a link that might be useful: Is this the thread?

Are Ty plants Cordylines? They are not "spikes" There are some really colorful ones online and for not much $.I wonder if they would grow ok indoors???

Billy Rae

Here is a link that might be useful: Plants

Toni, I didn't keep one over this past winter but I did do it several winters ago. I kept 2 of the green variety, and both did well, growing in a large sw window (I'm guessing 5ft tall by 6ft wide, so large window for me). Problem is they got big, when I measured their diameter after Christmas they were 4ft across, and poking guests in the face or eyes because we were so cramped for space! I wasn't gentle with them either, we'd had a light frost (-1 or -2C) for a couple of nights and I'd been toying with the idea of bringing them indoors so I could have HUGE plants to set in my containers the next year, and after the couple of light frosts they still looked okay, so I dug them out (and when I realized their roots went deep I ended up ripping them out, but this is in good potting soil, so it wasn't as violent as it sounds.)

Trimmed off any lackluster leaves, gave the roots a good haircut and potted into a 1 gallon black nursery pot. Did not water for several days, and placed the 2 plants in a low light spot. Then gave water and placed in sunny window. Did not drop one leaf due to that treatment. Just continued to grow and grow. Only problem was when I went to use them the next year, there wasn't much room for the other annuals to plant in the pot, but that would be because they now had a bit of a trunk, so I'd sunk them down into the container, and their leaves were at soil level and not leaving much room for the geraniums and petunias. Oh well.

Neighbor down the street from me overwintered the reddish purple ones, with the wider leaves (reminds me of the yucca plant) for 2 winters, and she stuck them in their garage through the winter, wrapped loosely in fabric to keep the cold off (from when the garage door opened and closed to park the vehicle-we get -20C days), come spring they were a bit sad, but then they perked up and looked good. But hers had to be grown in more shade during the summer - NW exposure, so maybe that's how they could survive the garage (with a north window that the plants were not set near). Last year she had to buy new ones. And our winters are long, if I am going to overwinter a plant, that means it comes in 1st or 2nd week of September, and does not go out permanently until 3rd or 4th week of May. That is a looong time.

This spring I splurged (by my standards!) and forked out $7 for a red star (I think), it's like the green spike but purplie-red with the thinner leaves, I would like to try and overwinter that. The regular green ones, small size, can be bought for $1, so $7 is quite a bit more to get something a bit different, but then I've yet to see the red ones offered for sale in the little 2.5" pots.

Good luck with yours. ~kioni~

Please don't pay that much for a cordyline (yes, they are Ti plants). That is nothing more than FINANCIAL RAPE. They sell here for about $10-15 for a fully grown plant with 2-3 36" plus plants in the 3 gallon container.

Mail ordering one would be better than buying one overpriced like that.

There is a seller on eBay that is a great seller, he is located in Hawaii so his shipping might be a little more, he has a lot of really beautiful and unusual hybrids, if I were you I would check him out: noveltytg

Hi Tony. I grew a Cordyline australis 'Red Sensation' indoors over the winter. It did quite well; no problems with humidity, even during the months when the heating system was in full force and even though I did not try to improve the moisture in the air (pebble tray, humidifier, etc). This plant has proven to be easy to care for and eager to please, although it would probably grow bigger outdoors with better lighting. All in all, it's behaved very well throughout the entire fall and winter seasons.

Hey Water Roots..Is Cordyline Australis the Spike grown outdoors in gardens/baskets? Common name is Spike?
If it is, how long have you had yours? Mine was bought last summer, and still growing strong. What size pot is yours in? Do they need yearly repotting? What type of soil and fertilizer? Sorry for all the questions, but I'd really love seeing this plant grow into a nice, big, healthy specimen.
This summer, I'm going to buy two green Spikes, place in the same pot. (Not with purple) I wish they came variegated.
The tag attached to my Cordy says Spike, Red Hybrid. No further information. The best time to buy them is during growing season, when the local market sells annuals/perrenials. Walmart charges 1.50-2.50 for 4-6" pots. For some resaon the red/purple Spike is fuller than green, that's the reason I intend on buying two.
Please let me know how you're caring for yours.
I don't think the annual Cordyline requires much humidity, but in summer it'd like fresh air, so mine is going out, starting in shade, then full sun. Do you set yours outside or keep indoors? Thanks, Toni

I think it may be the same plant as yours; I'm not sure. I don't have the tag it came with anymore, but I do recall the name 'Red Sensation' on it. I couldn't tell you if 'Spike' was on it as well. But, the plant has the same thin leaves that point upwards, and they are a very deep red/burgundy/purplish. If you search on google for Cordyling Red Sensation, you'll be able to find a picture of it.

Anyhow, I've had my plant for a year now and it's still fairly small, although slightly bigger than last year. It's in a 4" pot, but may need to be moved up a little since the root system has grown substantially. The plant has handled the indoors very well but the growth is not as lush or quick as it should be. This plant was being sold as an outdoor specimen, not for indoors. I bought it, regardless of that, and thought I'd try it indoors. I feed it once a month with diluted liquid fertilizer. As for soil, I grow my plants in hydroculture, so there is none.

I think that this plant will fare much better outdoors, and I believe that's where it prefers to be. I think your idea to grow it outside once the weather is better is the right idea. You'll probably end up with a faster-growing, healthier, very luch specimen. Indoors it will grow, but not as well as it would outside.

I paid about $2.00 for mine last year, and yes, it was at Wal-Mart.

I keep mine indoors all year; there's nowhere else to put my plants... Regardless, it's a really pretty plant and its ability to handle the indoors so well, despite the fact that it would be much happier outside, is quite impressive. So I kind of favour it...LOL...

Water Roots..I googled Cordyline, Red Sensation, that's it!! Isn't it amazing? The only thing I question is size. They say it grows 36". Last summer I visited a local nursery. They had a Cordyline Spike, in a huge, 24" container. It sold, I'm not certain on the price since it was last summer, but we had an ongoing post here on GW, and I mentioned the price. I think it was 650.00!!! LOL. I'll take 2, NOT. It stood at least 48"..I think..and extremely wide.
It would look nice growing with Ornamental Yams on the outside, but OY's attract spider mites in winter, so that's out. Since you grow hydroponically, is there such a word?, lol, do your plants have less chance of attracting insects? I wonder if OY's can be grown in water.
How many plants, and what type, can you grow in water? How often do you change water? I have a few plants in water, Pothos, Philos, Dracaena 'ribbon plant' a bog plant, Juncus, 'Corkscrew Rush,' and Lucky Bamboo.
Do you grow cactus and sux in water? That's interesting, but I'd be afraid to change from soil to water. LOL
Walmart has great prices, espeically if you're buying a plant as an experiment, like Cordyline Spikes.
To be honest, I fear placing it outside when temps warm up. It's near south and west windows, plus gets artificla light at night, but going out in the open, well, I don't want to lose it. I plan on repotting to the next side pot, before taking outside. Adding a little fertilizer, too, and Superthive. I wonder if All Purpose, high in nitrogen, will upset purple color. Most of my All Purpose ferts are higher in Nitrogen. We'll see what happens. I wish you luck with yours, thanks for responding. Toni

Toni, I've grown Cordyline for years inside in winter giving same care as Philodendrons, Dracaena, etc. They go outside in summer...filtered shade is best. I find them easy to care for. For lack of space I've often cut the top off and stuck in vase of water for winter...they will do fine though don't grow as fast. I don't try to transfer the water=grown roots to soil...instead I cut top off and stick stem in soil. They root quickly in spring for use as "spikes" in mixed containers.

This link shows some amazing new hybrids...a few are slowly becoming available around here. The range of color is amazing. josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Cordylines

Oh Josh, don't get me started. LOL. They are soooo pretty. How about the green and yellow striped, or the red with flowers???!!!!
The problem is, I can't grow 'tropical?/House plant' Cordylines. Every Ti I've had in the past ended up with spider mites. One got mealy!!! I can't control mealy, so if a plant, especially one that isn't a favorte, gets mealy, the plant goes in the trash.
I don't understand the difference, for some reason, Spike Cordy's do NOT attract insects. Why is that? I can't find a website that distinguishes the difference between tropical? Ti's and those we grow in the garden as annuals. (up north. I don't know if Spike Cordy is considered an annual or perrenial in warm climates.)
Would you happen to know?
I don't know the length of time you've grown plants, but do you remember Ti Logs sold at grocery stores for 1.00 a log? Even Walgreen's had Ti Logs in a little plastic bag. The object was to place in soil, root, then watch it grow, and they did produce foliage, green with a little red/pink stripes. No roots of any sort were on the logs, just a 4-8" piece of wood. I haven't seen Ti Logs in years, but if I did, it'd land in my cart. LOL. Probably end up w/mites though.
Thanks for the site. Ohhh, don't c'ha love gawking at plants?
I see you're in z8. I'm assuming the Cordyline's you have are simialar to those on the website, right? Tropical Cordys? I'm sorry, tropical is the only name I can think of when describing Cordy's like those on the website. And Spike for those grown as annuals up north. Hope you're not confused. LOL
When you prune the top of Cordy's, do you keep them in water, indefinanately? Did I kill that word, or what? LOL.
Also, are your Cordy's attached to a trunk, in other words, when you prune, are you removing a group of leaves (like the top of Spikes) or leaves with wood?
Do you have pics? How long will Cordy's survive in water? One reason I'm asking is, like I mentioned above, all Ti's I've had acquired mites, I'm wondering if they grew in water, if they'd live long and mites would steer clear. There are a few varieties sold locally, but I pass them up because of pests. If they'd survive in water, and can be kept in vases, I'd like to give it a try. One Cordy sold here has green, pink and white foliage. They're sold in 4" growing pots. If I bought one, and removed all soil, will it live in water? Thanks, Toni

My red star cordyline did well in a 2 foot diameter pot in a west window last winter. I have it in a pot with geraniums.