Sowing Cordyline Palm tree seeds in the UK - step 2

In this episode of the Cordyline Palm tree series, Roger shows how to sow the seeds in the Cordyline - as he does successfully every winter in the UK.
Warning! at about 3.30 minutes into the video Roger lets rip with a violent sneeze ...!
We look at the soil type, and other growing conditions required to help good germination, and we also get to see the mother plants and the older seedlings that have now grown up to be ready to [plant out in to the garden.

[@janiceh3995]

This was a great video! I am going to try this as I would love more of these cordyline in my garden, they are gorgeous! I wish I had known this years ago! Wish me luck!

[@rogthegardener1]

Yes - go for it Janice! thanks for your comment - enjoy your garden

[@rogthegardener1]

by way of an update we found that we had better germination by picking and sowing the seeds a little bit later into the winter this last year - here is the latest video kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4i6l3xtZ7prgZo

[@zmalik7182]

My Neighbour has cut their cordyline and put it in the skip. Tempting to get them out and plant them in my garden! Will it grow? Please advise! Thankyou!!!

[@zmalik7182]

Loved this video!

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks! I have replied to your other comment / question, good luck!

[@JosExotics]

Hi Roger Can I please buy some seeds off you. It would be nice knowing they are fresh seeds. I have now tried 3 times and never had a germination... pretty please..

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi - Thanks for getting in touch, it would be a pleasure. We would probably need to do that through the school where we grow them, let me speak to them next week and see how we can get some to you - are you in the UK?

[@JosExotics]

@@rogthegardener1 That would be fabulous. Thank you. Yes I am in the UK. Oxfordshire.

[@rogthegardener1]

@@JosExotics- hi there I have spoken with the school, could you drop me an email [e-mail] - thanks

[@JosExotics]

@@rogthegardener1 hi. email doesn't work. delivery failed all the time?

[@rogthegardener1]

@@JosExotics thats strange maybe try [e-mail] Thanks

[@elainemason04]

Hi can you tell me when you know it’s going to be a frost and you tie back the cordyline leaves what should you use to tie it back and should it be tight or loose as don’t want to damage leaves also when you cover with horticultural sleeve should you leave it on or do you take it off every day and put it back on when there’s a frost coming because because I don’t feel that that is explained in any of the videos ive watched

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Elaine - good to hear from you again. I really must do a video about this subject as a lot of people share you concern - I will try and do a video in the next couple of weeks ... I can tell you that I have been growing Cordylines in the South Wales valleys where we can get some cold weather for around 40 years and have never tied up the leaves or covered them with fleece. Only once did I have any damage in the extremely cold winter of 1985 when we had temperatures below minus 10 C overnight and minus 2 or 3 during that day for several weeks … that caused my 5 foot high youngish Cordyline to collapse completely and die back to ground level .. I thought it had died … but in early summer I saw new shoots starting again from below ground … and almost 40 years later I still have the same plant as a healthy mutibranched tree!! Watch the weather through winter, ( I use the met office website for my specific area|) some light frosts (such as - 1 to -4 C) over night shouldn't cause too much trouble, especially if it goes above freezing during the day. Allowing the leaves to be temporarily exposed to light frosts can 'toughen up' the leaves, and stop any soft growth developing ... it is particularly helpful if we get some light frosts during autumn so there is a gradual toughening of the leaves. It becomes more damaging if we have very wet and mild weather through autumn and early winter which can encourage some late soft new growth which can then be damaged if the weather suddenly switches from mild to very cold. I would only consider wrapping the plant and tying leaves if it suddenly became very cold day and night with temperatures below - 5C overnight and the ground remains frozen during the day… but as explained above I have never done this. Well drained soil and a sunny west facing garden can help Cordylines to cope with colder weather. I hope this helps?

[@elainemason04]

@@rogthegardener1 been busy so I’ve only just seen your message I will more than likely screenshot what you’ve written so as I can try an follow what you have suggested, but yes, it would be really good if you could do a video I will keep an eye out for that video when you do do it, but yes, thank you very much some of that has helped, I was in Lidl’s Yesterday afternoon and managed to get another sleeve but it was massive so I can line all my pots up and just zip them undercover but I won’t need to tie them up. Fingers crossed I’m pretty sure I can get them all under one sleeve 🤭

[@AHD2105]

It's not Australian...it's a New Zealand tree..Australis means down in this region of the planet😊

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Andrea - thanks for your comment - much love to our New Zealand friends and Family! I am very happy to be corrected by anyone from New Zealand (You know in the UK they are known as Torbay Palms as they grow in great numbers along the coast of Torbay in the south of the UK) But I am sure they originally came from 'Gods own country' (NZ!) so please accept my apologies, stay safe over there and thanks again!

[@AHD2105]

@@rogthegardener1 That's OK. We don't want Aussies owning everything lol...I was watching because I flogged some seeds of a council property tree lol.

[@lyonheart84]

Hopefully you'll have a really good germination rate Roger 🤞🤞

[@rogthegardener1]

Yes - we are hoping the same, thanks! we'll keep you posted in spring

[@elainemason04]

Well let’s see if the cordyline seeds I’ve brought from from Amazon will fair any better

[@rogthegardener1]

yes good luck! - keep us posted with your progress please - ours are just starting to grow from seed sown in January ...

[@elainemason04]

@@rogthegardener1 will do 🤞🏻

[@emma_m0]

Hands up, who’s cordyline plants died in this years harsh winter ✋😢

[@rogthegardener1]

My mature ones are all fine, but we have lost a couple of young seedlings

[@alastairmacdonald8187]

Lost about 34, going to try taking seeds from mature plant and growing them The remaining seeds I will pass on

[@italoremedy]

Hi Roger my tree is flowering now, its pure white, covered in bees and looking really nice, how long after the white flowers have died can you collect the seeds? Thanks

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Mark, thanks for your comment, here in south wales (UK) we normally wait until winter ...last year it was quite late (early january) to give the seeds within the little berries to ripen as much as poss - hope that helps? are you in the UK?

[@italoremedy]

@@rogthegardener1 Thanks Roger, Yes Hull

[@MrArnieman]

Hi Roger, I’m at my first attempt at growing these and had no problem germinating the seeds .now that was the easy bit, since they germinated they have all grown like a blade of grass but then collapsed and fell into the soil some lasting longer than others . It’s almost as if they can’t hold there own weight . I’ve not overwatered them and the soil seems just right any ideas please . Also are you going to do a part three ?

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi thanks for your comment, sorry for the delay in replying to you (KZbin are not notifying when people comment). So that is good that you managed to germinate some, but a bit worrying that they have collapsed - I normally plant the little grass-like seedlings into little (approx 10 cms) pots for the to grow on for a few months, and make sure taht they do not dry out ... how are yours looking now?

[@trekkingmatt3181]

@@rogthegardener1 Interestingly I had the same experience. Some grass blade like shoots appeared which were never able to hold their own weight. I ended up assuming they were just weeds. They died in the end. Have had a new flower stem from this spring which, having seen your videos, I might try and sow some seeds again. Roger, do you have any new pics or videos showing the progress of those seeds you planted at the end of 2019?

[@rogthegardener1]

@@trekkingmatt3181 yes, I seem to remember recording a little video when I repotted them ...I need to find and process that one - thanks for reminding me 😊

[@zmalik7182]

@@rogthegardener1 My Neighbour has cut their cordyline and put it in the skip. Tempting to get them out and plant them in my garden! Will it grow? Please advise! Thankyou!!! Please see the attached pic! Thankyou. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZSpeJSsl8atotU

[@trishshirley373]

Hi Roger, thanks for making this lovely little video. I'm in New Zealand, planting a new forest on our back paddock (we live in town, but have an acre and a half, almost unheard of nowadays), and cabbage trees are a key species here. Two things I need to say, firstly, NOT AUSTRALIAN!!! 'Cordyline australis' simply means 'southern cordyline', and although there are cordylines in warmer parts of the Pacific, this one's purely a New Zealander. Scientists make up these names to confuse us, I think. Secondly (just found this out from another video) , each of the little 'peppercorns' contains several seeds. Have just spent ten minutes picking some apart. Anyway, you're getting really good results, so it doesn't matter. Also, well done on such a wonderful school garden project!

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Trish, many thanks for your comments, you are of course correct on both counts - ie that it is attributed to the wonderful islands of New Zealand (it is strangely know as the Australian cabbage palm here in the UK amongst other confusing names ... especially as it isn't really a palm!) and yes the 'pips' or peppercorns can contain more than 1 seed ... here in the UK it is often just 1 or 2 that actually ripen in my experience (maybe because we do not often get long hot summers to ripen the seeds, especially here in South Wales where we live). I did another video later where I experimented with getting the seeds out of the pips and compared results here it is kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3zFZnaBoMaUpac Yes I am lucky to be involved in developing 'the outdoor classroom' with the schools! WE LOVE NEW ZEALAND! We visited for a month back in 1999 and still smile when we think about the lovely (and diverse) scenery, the clean rivers, the food!, the plants, the people ...and the crazy adventure sports! Whereabouts do you live?

[@lowrider692000]

Hi I picked some seeds today from my Cordyline Palm but my seeds are brown there were white flowers but these were nearly ready to fall off, are these seeds still ok to plant?

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi thanks for your comment, if you are in the UK the seeds are not normally ripe until later in the year - we pick our seeds in winter maybe December ...Are you in the UK?

[@lowrider692000]

@@rogthegardener1 yes am in south devon (kingsbridge) I just looked at the seeds that looked brown and they are in fact green, (needed to put my glasses on lol) I wanted to do the same and try and grow lots to take to my village shop, Al

[@rogthegardener1]

@@lowrider692000 Good plan, yep I would wait until nearer Christmas before you pick them. We ran a little experiment last winter, sowing some still in their 'berry' / seed husks, and with some others we broke open the husks and picked the seeds out and then sowed them here is the results video kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3zFZnaBoMaUpac

[@lowrider692000]

@@rogthegardener1 thats a cool vid so how long once put in soil did they take to pop up

[@rogthegardener1]

@@lowrider692000 they started to pop up in early April - so that's about 3 months. If you click on my community section on my KZbin channel and scroll down a few months you will see a pic of them just starting to push through - always an exciting moment!

[@adrianalcimmarrusti2691]

Hi, many thanks for the informative videos. We planted a couple of this plant not really knowing what they would became in our small from garden when they were very small, maybe 5 years ago. One of them grew really well and this year produced the bunch of flowers which it was a very nice surprise. I just want to double check something, the flowers have dried out and some green balls or are wronging from the dry flowers, would they became white seeds? Should I wait till October to remove it and get the seeds out of it? Many thanks in advance.

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Adriana - yes you are correct the green balls become white seeds by the autumn, I usually wait until they forecast cold frosts before I harvest them (some-times well into the winter) to give them as much time as possible to ripen fully. Good luck! let us know how you get on with your seeds, thanks

[@michaeltweed1160]

I have a well established cordyline palm, 2 big flowers on it, can’t wait to try this, thank you

[@rogthegardener1]

Great, don’t be in a hurry to pick the seeds we left it until after Christmas this year and had good results. Good luck keep us posted with your progress thanks!

[@fishercake]

Nice video! I ordered some seeds March 20th, if I sow them now, will the still germinate through spring or do they have to be planted in winter? Thanks chris

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Chris, thanks for your comment - good question! Mine were only sown 2 months ago - and are just starting to germinate .... my concern is that if you leave them until next winter you may not get as much germination anyway .... how about doing half now and save the other half until next winter - how does that sound?

[@austinhenning6271]

These are the dried fruit you're planting. Your germination will be better if you open the fruit and take the seeds out.

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks! that is really interesting ... we have been growing them like this for years with excellent germination results, normally not picking the 'seeds' until January, however we picked them earlier last year (when we did this video) because there was cold weather forcast ... as you say we ended up sowing the 'fruits' ... maybe when we were sowing them later (in previous years) the fruit casing was breaking down more so the seeds we quickly exposed and we experienced better germination as a result? Either way I am grateful for your advice, we will try as you suggest this winter ... and keep you posted!

[@samuelharper4596]

Good video Roger I am about to plant some trapper carpus Windmill palm tree seeds fresh from the tree do I need to dry them out at all or can they go straight into the potting phase could you let me know thank you Sam

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi, Thanks for your comment. Trachycarpus are not as easy of quick to grow as the Cordyline, I have only managed to grow a couple of Trachies from seeds, but will try again this year - just found this video below which looks quite interesting - lets both give it a go this year and see how we get on .. but be prepared it may take a few months before you see any tiny leaves emerging! kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3rOiqB6l5qYiJo

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

New friend Ruthie here. this was interesting

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks Ruthie - welcome to our little channel from Wales, hope this was helpful - more to follow!

[@decoman100]

Interesting video thanks ....QUESTION...my tree is 11 ft tall and now just growing a flower is it best to cut it off to allow growth of the tree and how do I get it to grow different branches ..?? Many thanks ..

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Duane - thanks for your comment and excellent question. To be honest I never cut the flowers off until they have finished flowering, partly because I love the look and smell of the flowers ... BUT ALSO because the tree tends to produce side branches from the point where the flower spike starts .. so the flower you can see starting will actually provide you with the multi branched look (it will take a year or two to fully develop the new branches) .. I hope this makes sense, I touch on this subject in the video link below, and the tree in this video has now developed several branches from the point where the flower stems started - those side branches will appear regardless of whether you cut out the flower stem or not. I am more likely to cut out the dead flower stem 6 months later in winter so that we can collect the seeds (or just to tidy up the look of the tree) here's that link kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKHIf6mgh5mjhqs

[@decoman100]

@@rogthegardener1 thanks very much for your fast reply ...much appreciated ...you know much more bout it than i do ..so if i cut off the stem to the flower i it should in time have branches coming out of that area ..or even if i just leave it , branches wil still grow there in time ....thanks ...just that i was told by a friend that i should cut the flower part off as it takes all the nutrient and strength from the main tree ......i silmply what the tree to lood nice and green and have a few branges on it in time ...many thanks roger

[@rogthegardener1]

@@decoman100 yes you are right, the side shoots will emerge regardless of whether you cut out the flower or not. I see loads of Cordylines growing around here in South Wales which are too tall to reach the flowers to cut them off, and they just keep on producing flowers and more side shoots year after year. There may be some measure of truth in what you friend says (ie that some energy will be used up producing the flower) but I like the flowers too much to cut them off ... I suppose if it is easy to reach you could let them flower over the next month or two, and then remove the bunch of flowers as soon as they finish (rather than waiting until winter) that way the plant won't put any energy into producing the seeds over summer / autumn and can put on lots of new growth instead - make sense? This video shows how I remove the dead flowers kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJK8o2CGrqxjhLc

[@decoman100]

@@rogthegardener1 yes completely makes sense thanks for your replies much appreciated ...

[@jimmylincoln4082]

Great video thanks, I’ve struggled growing these . I feel confident this time 🙏

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks Jimmy - good luck this time - please let us know how you get on ...

[@jimmylincoln4082]

Roger Crookes ....will do , I subscribed so I will keep in touch , thanks

[@jimmylincoln4082]

Roger Crookes ..... I copied exactly what you did and have over 25 growing at present, very happy thankyou 👍

[@joningle]

Can these be planted in August

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi John thanks for your question Assuming you are in the uk, yes you probably could sow them, but I have a couple of concerns … 1 the seeds would ideally be last years seeds (as this years seeds are less likely to have ripened yet) 2 if you do have success and the seeds germinate they are going to be very small and tender going into the winter so would benefit from greenhouse protection by sowing at my normal time ie midwinter they germinate in spring and have the rest of the year to ‘grow up’ a bit before winter But if you want to give it a go, please let us know how you get on … Good luck!

[@joningle]

Thanks Roger I think I may have boo boo'd I have planted this years seeds, they were green , so looks like back to the drawing board, Thanks for your reply,

[@rogthegardener1]

@@joningle hey, you never know give it a few months and let us know if you get any seedlings- I for one would be very interested to find out what happens Thanks 😊

[@joningle]

@@rogthegardener1 will let you know one way or the other , probably the other, cheers.

[@toniphilcox255]

Hi Roger, how much sand do you mix in with the soil as this is my first attempt at growing from seed.

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Toni - thanks for your comment, I suppose it depends how well drained your compost or soil is to start with ... but I probably add about 20 - 25% of sand to the compost which I use - I hope this helps, by the way we are also going to try squeezing some the little white seed pods to release any of the small seeds from within .. which can help germination and are leaving the seeds pods a little longer so that they are fully ripe - I will probably sow them in early January. Good luck please let us know how you get on ...

[@toniphilcox255]

@@rogthegardener1 Thanks Roger. Didn’t realise I was using my daughters account but her dad is happy with the reply.

[@1107ml]

Very nicely done thank you .. I will try to do it this year ... I also need to transplant 3 of these at 3 meters hope for the best

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi thanks for your comment, sorry for the delay in replying to you (KZbin are not notifying when people comment). Sounds like you have a good plan - keep us posted with your progress - enjoy your garden!

[@1107ml]

@@rogthegardener1 many thank s I will try to upload a foto I'm not good with this technology

[@CecilyPigeon]

Thank you for such an informative video! We moved into a new house with a lovely cordyline this past autumn and I was looking for guidance on dealing with the two flower clusters currently on it. If you see this, could you please advise on whether it's ok to remove the flower clusters at this time of year and harvest the seeds? Or should I wait until after the summer for a more dormant period? Thanks very much! :)

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi thanks for your comments! If you can safely reach the dead flowers then yes I would cut them off, you could try sowing some seeds but it may be a bit late - always worth trying though .. it can take a month of two for them to germinate mind you. Good luck - keep us posted with your seed endeavors!

[@CecilyPigeon]

@@rogthegardener1 Thanks so much for your reply! I'll let you know how we get on. :) All the best to you!

[@rogthegardener1]

@@CecilyPigeon great, thanks, did you see our step 1 video on how to cut off the flowers, and also we have a video from about a year ago showing some spring care of Cordylines, hope they are of some help?

[@CecilyPigeon]

@@rogthegardener1 I did indeed! So much good information. I found you just by googling for tips on how to care for a palm in the UK - didn't even know the variety until I found your videos. Very sweet to see the Momma tree having her beauty treatment and then months later able to keep an eye on the kids. 😁