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Products > Cordyline banksii Electric Star ['Sprilecstar'] PP24,164   Cordyline banksii Electric Star ['Sprilecstar'] PP24,164 - Electric Star Grass Tree Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   [2nd Image] Habit and Cultural Information Category: Tree Family: Dracaenaceae (~Agaveaceae) Origin: New Zealand (Australasia) Evergreen: Yes Red/Purple Foliage: Yes Variegated Foliage: Yes Flower Color: White Bloomtime: Spring Fragrant Flowers: Yes Synonyms: [C. australis 'Electric Star'] Height: 4-8 feet Width: 3-4 feet Exposure: Sun or Shade Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs Winter Hardiness: <15° F Cordyline banksii Electric Star ['Sprilecstar'] PP24,164 - (Electric Star Grass Tree) - An interestingly colored plant with a clumping upright habit with many narrow leaves that appear mostly green but have a deep burgundy central stripe - very unusual! Like its sister Cordyline 'Electric Pink', this cultivar is a bit of a mystery - its growth habit appears similar in appearance to other brightly colored Cordyline australis cultivars, though it seems to be more clump forming with a developing caudex. It is listed as a cultivar of Cordyline banksii, the Forest Cabbage Tree or Ti Ngahere that clumps more like a Phormium and this parentage could make this plant a smaller more clumping species rather than having tree-like stature of the Cordyline australis cultivars, which easily reach 25 ft. tall. Though usually listed as a plant only growing to 4 feet we have found reports of it exceeding 6 feet in Australia and if related to 'Electric Pink', then growing even taller is not out of the question. The tallest plants we have measured of 'Electric Pink' are about 7 feet tall with considerable basal branching, thus the taller stems could be cut out to maintain a lower clumping plant. As with other Cordyline it will be best with a well-drained soil and will likely by fairly drought tolerant in coastal gardens but more lush with regular irrigation and should prove hardy to around 15° F, growing well in USDA zones 9-10. This plant from Sprint Horticulture of Wamberal, New South Wales is protected overseas under the Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) program and was issued US Plant Patent number 24,164 on January 14, 2014. The image courtesy of Sprint Horticulture. We discontinued growing this item in 2016 - while this plant grew well initially, it would sometimes initiate very colorful shoots having little chlorophyll and then lose vigor with age.  The information on this page is based on the research that we have conducted about this plant in the San Marcos Growers library, from what we have found on reliable online sources, as well as from observations made of our crops of this plant growing in the nursery and of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens where we may have observed it. We also have incorporated comments received from others and welcome getting feedback from those who may have additional information, particularly if this information includes cultural information that would aid others in growing Cordyline banksii Electric Star ['Sprilecstar'] PP24,164.     [MORE INFO]