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Cordyline australis 'Pink Stripe' (Pink Striped Grass Palm) - This is a palm-like, sub-tropical tree that grows with an upright habit and with age will branch to produce several heads. This cultivar is a showy and vigorous plant with dense clusters of arching, sword-like leaves that are dark gray green with a pink midrib that form a crown at the ends of the branches Like the other colorful Cordyline australis cultivars this plant should grow to be a branched 10 to 20 foot tall by 5 to 10 foot wide evergreen tree and produce large panicles of small, sweet-scented flowers in late spring to summer.
Best in full coastal sun to light shade - some shade protection necessary in hotter inland gardens. It is drought tolerant in coastal gardens but responds well to occasional to regular irrigation. Useful in dry gardens but also offers a tropical look. A great container plant. It can tolerate coastal conditions if protected from direct sea winds (Zone 2) . It is hardy to around 15° F, growing well in USDA zones 9-10 (and possibly warmer Zone 8 locations).
The species Cordyline australis is a tall tree endemic to New Zealand where it grows from the far northerly subtropical areas of the North Island to the chilly southern areas of the South Island. It is typically found in forest margins, riverbanks and open places, and is also abundant in wet swampy area. The name Cordyline comes from the Greek word kordyle, meaning "club," a reference to the enlarged underground stems or rhizomes and the specific epithet is the Latin word for "southern" as in southern hemisphere.
We have a branched 12 foot specimen of 'Pink Stripe' in our nursery garden and it has produced large panicles of small, sweet-scented flowers in late spring. Though we are not sure of the origins of this plant the first time we noticed it was in a retail nursery in New Zealand in 1994 under the name 'Kiwi Dazzler'. We did not find a source that could ship us the plants until 1998 and we grew it until 2011, only discontinuing it as other more colorful varieties became available.
The information displayed on this page about Cordyline australis 'Pink Stripe' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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