A Detailed Guide to the Three Common Propagation Methods for Cordyline

Cordyline, also known as red ti tree (detailed introduction), is mainly distributed in the tropical regions of southern China and is often grown in courtyards. Because Cordyline is a semi-shade plant, both exposure to scorching sun and a fully shaded environment will cause it to lose its ornamental value. For artificial propagation of Cordyline, you can choose cutting, layering and sowing methods. The editor will briefly introduce these three propagation methods for Cordyline.

Cordyline

1. Cuttings

A commonly used propagation method, with cuttings taken from June to October. Cordyline has poor branching ability, so tall, robust mother plants are generally specially cultivated for taking cuttings for propagation. When propagating at home, it is mostly combined with pruning: cut mature branches from the top of the plant, cut them into 10-15 cm long cuttings, remove the leaves from the branches or keep 1/2 of the leaves, then use sand as the medium and insert them into a sand bed or potting soil, with the insertion depth about 6 cm. After cutting, place them under a shade shed. If the temperature is 25-30°C and the air humidity is relatively high, they can take root and sprout in 30-40 days. When the new shoots grow to about 5 cm, they can be transplanted into pots for single-plant cultivation.

2. Air layering

When home propagation is limited but you want to cultivate large plants as quickly as possible, air layering can be used. This is generally done in May-June. Select the main stem of a robustly growing plant, at a point 20-25 cm from the top. Perform ring barking with a width of 1-1.5 cm, wrap it into a mud ball with moist peat soil, moss or vermiculite shell, then wrap the outside with plastic film and tie both ends tightly to prevent the medium from leaking out. Roots generally form in about 30 days, and after 60 days it can be cut from the mother plant and planted separately in a pot.

3. Sowing

Harvest after the fruit matures in late summer and early autumn. Take the seeds out of the berries, wash them clean, dry them in the air, and sow them in rows in a dry sand bed or pot. After sowing, keep the room temperature above 24°C, and after about 20 days the seeds will sprout and emerge. When the seedlings grow to about 6 cm tall, move them into flower pots, 1 plant per pot, and continue cultivating them separately.

Cordyline Cultivation Methods: How to Propagate Cordyline by Cuttings?

Cordyline has a rather beautiful plant form and its leaves are very eye-catching. If you have one pot at home, it is quite good for ornamental use, but do you know the cultivation methods for Cordyline? If not, be sure to take a look. If you have one pot and want to divide it into several pots, then you need to consider the issue of propagation. Jiuzheng will share with you the method of how to propagate Cordyline by cuttings. Let's take a look below.

Cordyline cultivation methods:

1. Planting

The soil should preferably be fertile, loose and well-drained sandy loam, and it is not tolerant of saline-alkaline or acidic soil. For pot cultivation, a mixed soil of leaf mold or peat soil with culture soil and coarse sand is commonly used.

2. Fertilizing

During the peak growing season, apply a light fertilizer solution or compound flower fertilizer once every half month.

3. Watering

Cordyline is relatively sensitive to moisture. During the growing period, the potting soil must remain moist. Lack of water can easily cause leaf drop, but too much water or water accumulation in the pot can likewise cause leaf drop or yellowing of leaf tips. During the stem and leaf growing period, spray water frequently, with air humidity of 50%-60% being more suitable. Watering must be sufficient during the growing season. In dry seasons and when the weather is hot in summer, in addition to watering every day, also spray water on the leaf surface 1-2 times, so that the leaves can appear moist and elegant.

4. Temperature and light

The suitable growth temperature for Cordyline is 20-25°C, in summer it can be 25-30°C during the day, and in winter the nighttime temperature is 7-10°C. It cannot be lower than 4°C, and some varieties can tolerate a low temperature of 0°C. It can be seen that Cordyline has relatively strong adaptability. Cordyline is relatively shade-tolerant and can be kept indoors in a semi-light location all year round, or placed outdoors in shade for maintenance in spring and autumn. In winter, move the flower pot to a well-lit indoor location, reduce watering and stop fertilizing, and it can overwinter safely as long as the room temperature is not lower than 10°C.

5. Cultivation and care

If displayed indoors at home, the plant shape should not be too large and should be controlled. Cordyline fruit matures in late summer and early autumn. The seeds are relatively large; harvest them after the berries are fully ripe, wash them clean and dry them in the air. Use old potting soil in a wooden box or flower pot for sowing in rows, keep the room temperature above 24°C, and they will sprout and emerge in about 15 days. When the seedlings grow to about 5 cm, move them into small flower pots, 1 plant per pot, and continue cultivating them. The potting soil should often remain moist, better moist than dry. If the air is dry, spray water on the leaf surface every day. In spring and autumn, apply liquid fertilizer several times as a top dressing. In summer, do not apply top dressing and pay attention to preventing heat and lowering temperature. If the room is stuffy and hot, move it outdoors to a sparse shade. In early October, move it indoors for overwintering (the room should have heating equipment), expose it to more sunlight, and in early May of the following year it can be moved outside for maintenance. Perennial old plants will grow taller and taller, old leaves will fall off one by one, and the stems will become bare, which hinders ornamentation. They should be shortened in combination with taking cuttings, to encourage more side branches. After shortening, strengthen fertilizer and water management to prompt dormant buds to sprout as soon as possible.

6. Disease control

The main problems are anthracnose and leaf spot, which can be sprayed with a 1000-fold dilution of 10% antibacterial agent 401 acetic acid solution. Sometimes scale insects harm the leaves, and they can be killed by spraying with a 1000-fold dilution of 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate.

How to propagate Cordyline by cuttings?

When propagating Cordyline by cuttings, you can choose soil cuttings or water cuttings, both of which are relatively simple.

For soil cuttings, insert the branches horizontally into the soil, cover with plastic film, and pay attention to shading. When doing water cuttings, the rooting speed is relatively fast, and generally roots can be seen growing in one week.

The time for propagating Cordyline by cuttings

Cutting propagation is a relatively common propagation method for Cordyline. There are quite a few choices for the time of cutting propagation; as long as conditions are suitable, cuttings can be done all year round. If cuttings are done in spring and autumn, the survival rate will be very high, while rooting will be relatively slow when cuttings are done in winter.

Selection of Cordyline cuttings

When taking cuttings from Cordyline, pay attention to selecting the cuttings. When pruning, the branches that are cut off can be used for cuttings. Just choose the ones that are growing relatively robustly.

In fact, Cordyline cuttings can be divided into two situations. The first is to use terminal buds for cuttings. When selecting cuttings, choose branches with terminal buds, so that rooting will be faster. When cutting the cuttings, there is no fixed requirement for length; generally, a length between 15 cm and 30 cm is fine.

In addition, Cordyline can also be propagated by hardwood cuttings, mainly by removing the terminal buds from the branches, then cutting branches about 10-15 cm long as cuttings for propagation.

Propagation Methods for Cordyline (Red Ti Tree)