Dracaena Cordyline, Red Star.

It is known by the scientific or Latin name of cordyline australis or Dracaena australis.

It is commonly known by the names of Cordyline, Dracaena, Cabbage tree.

This plant belongs to the Agavaceae family, with its origins in New Zealand.

It is an arborescent, evergreen, slightly branched plant, with a very thickened stem at the base.

They can reach a height of 1 to 5 m in height.

There are known wild specimens in its area of origin where the trunk has reached 1.5 m in diameter.

Each stem is crowned by a rosette of purplish-green, ribbed leaves, 30-100 cm long and 3-6 cm wide.

It usually bears creamy-white flowers grouped in long panicles, the flowering in summer being perfumed (only in adult specimens).

The fruit is a globose berry, whitish when ripe.

A tenacious fibre is extracted from this plant, as good as that of New Zealand flax. It is a very popular species in gardening. Typical tropical rockery and container plant.

It is not usually very resistant to the cold, withstanding minimum temperatures of no less than 5ºC. In very cold winters it is grown as an indoor plant.

It likes full sun or semi-shade. To grow well it needs fertile and well-drained soils.

It is a plant that should not be over-watered. If the soil dries out, the leaves turn yellow and if it is waterlogged, the roots rot.

Propagation is by seeds, pieces of stem and by rooting of the aerial stem, once it is in the ground.