Japanese name: センネンボク（千年木） Scientific name:Cordyline fruticosa
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub growing to about 3 m tall.
It has fleshy rhizomes.
The leaves grow in dense clusters at the stem tips; they are lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 25–50 cm long and 5–10 cm wide, leathery, and have leaf stalks.
The leaf color varies from green to reddish.
Panicles 30–60 cm long emerge from the leaf axils and densely bear many small six-petaled flowers.
The flower color is cream, pale pink, pale lavender and so on.
There are 3 bracts at the base of the flower.
The ovary is divided into 3 chambers, each with 6–15 ovules.
The fruit is a red berry.
[Uses]
There are many horticultural varieties with vivid leaf colors, and it is used as a foliage plant.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings, layering or root cuttings.
It needs at least 5°C to overwinter, and growth stops when the temperature falls below 15 degrees.
Varieties with variegated leaves color poorly in insufficient sun, and direct summer sun can cause leaf scorch, so place them in a sunny spot from autumn to spring and in partial shade in summer.
Do not let it run short of water or fertilizer during the spring-to-autumn growing season.
From spring to autumn, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; keep it on the dry side in winter.
The leaf edges may wither when humidity is insufficient, so mist the leaves all year round.
From spring to autumn, apply slow-release fertilizer once a month, or liquid fertilizer once a week.
Pests and diseases include soft rot, damping-off, scale insects, aphids and spider mites.
