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Last summer, a plant has been offered to me, supposedly unkillable.

However, I am not one to back away from a challenge, and a winter later, it looks quite dead to me.

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However, there seem to be a sliver a green left, so I wonder if I can try and save it.

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Is it possible to save it? If so, how should I tackle this?

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  • If it is a Cordyline, it looks more like a dead Cordyline australis to me - what part of the world are you in? Is there a short, straight trunk at the base,or does all the growth arise out of the soil with no trunk at all? – Bamboo Apr 18 '19 at 20:39
  • You certainly proved them wrong, didn't you! I appreciate your gumption! – Tim Nevins Apr 19 '19 at 13:13
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This plant is Cordyline australis sometimes known as a Spike or the Cabbage palm. It comes from New Zealand and is commonly sold as an annual as it is only winter hardy to USDA Zones 9-11. If you should happen to live where it gets below 20 degrees F then this plant is dead. Even if it is not dead it will be a long time, if ever, before it looks nice.

I recommend sending this one to the recycle bin. If you should get another plant like this:

  • grow in part shade
  • bring inside in the winter and place near bright light -keep container soils consistently moist in summer but reduce moisture indoors in winter. After a while it might look like this

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Care from here

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  • @Bamboo thanks for correcting me on the species – kevinsky♦ Apr 19 '19 at 13:22
  • Hmm, well that isn't what I was doing... the comment/question was directed at the OP rather than you - for all I know, this is a phormium rather than cordyline, hence the query re the trunk. As its to all intents and purposes dead, its hard to be sure what it might once have been. – Bamboo Apr 19 '19 at 20:52

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