Plant Profile: Ti Plant (Cordyline Fruticosa)

 

Ti Plant is just what you need to add a little flair to your garden!  It has long been cultivated in Polynesia for its ornamental, functional and cultural values, and is vastly under-appreciated here in North Central Florida.  Every now and then you may find the variety "Red Sister" with its neon magenta leaves drawing attention at entrances to shopping centers, but that's only one of the many varieties to choose from!  Available in any combination of black, purple, lime, chartreuse, pink, orange, wide leaves, thin leaves little leaves... you name it, there's a ti plant to fit any planting scheme.  Limited only by your imagination, you could literally paint a bright and beautiful picture with these beauties.  

Try using them in a modern and ultra tropical planting scheme so they're rising out of a minimalist bed of Liriope Spicata, where it provides a dramatic emerald backdrop for ti's architectural silhouettes.  If the ti plants get hit by frost you still have a lovely bed of green to warm you up in the coldest part of winter.  Just simply wait until multiple stems start filling out in spring!  If its too cold where you live, try this idea with Ti plant's hardier cousin, Cordyline Australis and its varieties.  With spiky leaves in its own variety of colors, this hardy substitute can be just as dramatic.

Several sources will tell you that Ti is too tender outside of zone 10, but I can assure you that there are sizable stands here in Jacksonville where it reaches 20 degrees in winter.  If you're unsure about your temperatures you can always either wrap the trunks to the base or cut the trunks and root cuttings for next year.  Since Ti plants are common houseplants, they overwinter indoors well too.

There are many uses for Cordyline Fruticosa, but the easiest include decor and cooking.  Simply use the cut leaves as table settings and centerpieces, or cut the leaves in pieces to be used in the same way you would use rose petals in more traditional settings.  You can even use the leaves as wrappers for cooking fish and meats, or just as a garnish to your culinary creations.  Be advised that the leaves are inedible and fibrous, so their use in the kitchen is limited to wrapping and garnishing.  If you're really adventurous, you can weave the fibrous leaves together to make sandals, thatch, skirts, mats... the uses are as endless as their colors!

Here are some resources:

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for this interesting posting. I found I always can learn something from your posting. I will start to pay attention to find a right spot in my garden to introduce the Ti plants.

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  2. One of my favourites ... and the new varieties of fruticosa are just so colourful. I recently lost my 'Caruba Black' and am now searching frantically trying to replace it ... heartbreaking! I have one that looks so similar to the 'Red Sister' ... it's called 'Red Wings' and everyone who sees it always makes a comment about it!

    Even though they drop their lower leaves I'm not at all tempted to collect these and use them to make a skirt or a pair of sandals!!

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  3. Thanks for that informative post - yes cordelines are very common here, and look nice in a clump with something to block the lower area where leaves have dropped. Although if you cut the top off they will branch out lower. They propogate very easily from stem cuttings, so you can just plant the top again!. I have noticed some have more colourful leaves, and have been trying to determine if it is something in the soil that changes that. They do not display their full glorious colour in full shade, and love dappled light. The edges of the leaves can get burned in full sunlight.

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  4. They really are beautiful plants. I like them best planted in clumps tucked in between dark green plants. They seem to pop out and grab your eye.

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  5. These are beautiful and surprisingly resilient plants. Mine are frost burned right now but I know that I will be topping them AFTER Februrary. They branch out and come back fuller than before when I do this. Your photo of the Ti's is very nice

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  6. The photo is beautiful. These are my favorite plants and you have inspired me to incorporate them into my wedding decor.

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  7. In Puerto Rico it is OVERUSED and planted
    under heat/direct sun, looking like crap in
    nine out of ten places..

    Only in the shade, cool places it gets to look
    nice. This plant is member of my favorite to
    detest in the urban, not far from the ocean
    context, plant selections.

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  8. I like Ti plants because they have beautiful foliage. But my garden is too hot for them. Their leaves tend to dry easily. I have given up on one red leaf plant that I had for more than one year. I kept pruning the leaves. Eventually the plant looked quite ugly. So, it has to be discarded to make space for other plants ;-( Yours are wonderful :-D

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  9. This is one of my favorite plants, and I am an avid collector! There is an amazing array of cultivars from which to choose. My goal in life is to someday have all of them. Seriously.

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  10. What absolutely beautiful foliage! I love the purple especially. It is easy to imagine the variety of ways that the leaves can be used. I wonder if they would work in my zone 8b garden?

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  11. Lovely plant, thanks for sharing. You have a great blog here, look forward to reading more.

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  12. These cordylines when planted wisely
    without constant direct heat/sun, do well in Puerto
    Rico, Unfortunately, down here composition,
    that concept making a garden attractive
    does not exist.

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  13. Fantastic Tis! These are some of my favorite plants. I like that they look colorful 24/7, even without flowers. I use them everywhere and pass them on to my friends (since they propogate easily!).

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  14. I have the red ti plants coming out of a bed of purple and green oyster plants! It is by far my fav area in the yard..so colorful! I want to try some weaving now that you tell me I can!!! :)

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  15. To anyone who will be visiting Kauai, e komo mai (welcome) to our farm, where we specialize in ti plants. We'd be happy to show you the plants growing en masse in a native environment, where some top 20' and the broad range of colors and shapes combine so beautifully. We're Elua Wai Farm in Kalaheo (elauwai.com). Hope to meet some of you fellow ti lovers in person here. Such amazing plants; they are our obsession. Aloha.

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