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Cordyline australis 'Pink Champagne' (Pink and White Cordyline) - This cultivar of Cordyline australis came into the California nursery trade around 2007 and has narrow upright pale green leaves that are variegated along their margins with cream and white blushed with pink near the base. This plant is somewhat similar to the cultivars 'Torbay Dazzler' and 'Albertii' but with narrower leaves and because of its slow growth is not supposed to grow as large - time will tell!
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.
In the RHS Cordyline Trials James Armitage wrote of this plant that it was a sport that occurred during the process of micropropagation. We began growing this plant in 2008 but discontinued producing it in 2013 due to lack of its availability from the tissue culture laboratories that originally produced it, but still have a fine 7 foot tall specimen of it in our nursery garden that likely would have been taller by now but for an oak limb that crashed down upon the plant in 2019.
The information displayed on this page about Cordyline australis 'Pink Champagne' 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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