Here’s my guide to pruning / pollarding a Cordyline australis: chop it down to whatever height you want and it will grow back. Easy.
That’s it. But I guess I should expand a little bit given there is so little information on the subject. (Join my newsletter for weekly gardening tips!)
Why pollard a Cordyline australis?
It’s a good question, why even pollard a Cordyline australis in the first place? Well, I agree, there is no point, the bigger they get the more beautiful they are… usually. I’ve always loved our Cordyline, it seemed to retain its lower leaves in the green better than others I see around. The above picture shows our Cordyline on 29th January 2019, five years after I moved it to this spot and the fateful day I decided to bite the bullet and lop it down.
There were three problems with our Cordyline due to the fact our patio is West facing. Firstly, it is leaning more and more toward the sun to the south, this lean was pulling the roots out of the ground. It’s true I could have erected an elaborate stake and rope scenario to yank it back in place but the second problem is that this position on the south corner of our main border meant it was casting large amounts of shade along the rest of the border. That shade has been causing havoc with all other plants as they stretched for light – made worse by the fact the Cordyline had begun to branch making it wider. The third problem is that these are moisture loving plants, so a large, multi headed tree in full sun would drain this part of the border of more moisture than I would like.
I suppose you could argue that pruning could be useful to encourage the plant to branch sooner and lower but as they grow they naturally branch anyway.
When to prune a Cordyline australis?
The best time is not when I cut it, we live in a microclimate. Wait until spring, around May. This is because Cordylines are slightly tender and the leaves offer the plant some protection from frosts, so it’s best to wait until they’re out of the way. Also because the plant is only in active growth from spring onwards, so cut it in winter (as I did) and you’ll be looking at a log for a few months.
Where to prune a Cordyline australis?
You can chop the Cordyline back to any point you wish and new shoots will form just below the cut. I angled it slightly to let water run off and used a saw, it is incredibly easy to cut through. You could cut right down at the base and it will reshoot, almost always with multiple growing points. As it grows the new stems will morph the old trunk to reduce the unsightliness of the cut.
How does it grow back?
Our Cordyline started showing signs of new growing points in April, these start as green bumps bursting through the barky trunk. Gradually they form points as you can see above. These new shoots are particularly delicious to snails and slugs which kept eating them so I added the copper tape to prevent this from happening. I needn’t really have worried because as the weather warms up the plant goes into overdrive forming new growing points.
Any after care?
Yes, you will need to give it some fertiliser in the form of a compost mulch or liquid seaweed when it’s growing as it has suffered a major loss. Although once the leaves start appearing, it will be back in business, usually with a lot of new shoots.
So vigorous is our tree I’ve counted at least 20 new shoots up and down its stem. Begging the question, which to keep and which to nip off? If I leave them all to grow it will turn into a many headed Hydra creating even more shade than before. All I really want is one new shoot.
The shoots at the base and mid-trunk are easy, I don’t want these so I’ll keep nipping them off. They do keep coming back like whack-a-mole but I’m guessing this will slow once we have a dominant leader shoot again.
At the moment I can’t decide which of the top shoots to keep, whether to have the new leaves growing to the back, front or side. Not that it really matters as they will cover the stump, it’s more for how this slight bias to one side or other will create shade around it. But either way, it’s now two meters lower and for a few years, back below the fence line.
Despite the impression all of this hacking and chopping may give I am doing this because I love the plant. It’s the first plant in our garden, planted by our previous neighbours and friends Jenny, Peter and Cath. It’s such an architectural rock that our garden has felt bereft without it. With shoots growing rapidly by the day however, its presence will soon be back and our garden all the better for it.
Hello Jack, how is the Cordyline looking nowadays? I’m thinking of doing the same to mine once the winter is over.
Thanks
Hi Katie, it’s absolutely fine. It put out about 20 shoots all around its trunk. I snapped off all but one of them where I wanted it to grow.
Jack
Hi Jack
We have a very tall cordyline which is starting to look very sparse at the top ie just branches with a few leaves. about a third of the way up is a large baby shoot. We are note sure the best way to treat it we want to keep it as tall as possible but also want it to be like it used to be ie lots of leaves
Any help would be great
Hi Nick, I would leave it for now until early summer to see how it grows… it shouldn’t be losing that many leaves so it doesn’t sound too healthy but they are tough plants, so I expect it should recover.
Cool
Thanks Jack
Very Much Appreciated
Best
Nick
Hi Jack
I’ve just decapitated mine which was around 12 ft tall. Fingers crossed it reshoots!
Are you able to post an updated pic of yours to see how it’s regrowing?
Thanks
Jen
Hi Jen,
Good shout, I will try to remember to take a photo and update it soon! But basically it’s been fine – too fine! It put out about 30 new shoots up and down its trunk! I kept snapping off the ones I didn’t want and it now has a wonderful head of hair again from one shoot at the top. And I’m sure the additional shoots will slow down now it has a new leading shoot doing well. My only advice would be that if you don’t like the stump look, go right the way to the ground and it will soon bounce back from there with a more natural look.
Good luck with yours!
Jack
The one I have grown is nice it’s about 12ft high but if I cut it down do I replant the half that I have cut… And it will be OK just smaller next to the one half still in the soil..?
Hi Andrew, no you will only be able to grow back the half in the ground with roots, the top half won’t survive.
Hi Jack( we didnt plant it ), but have a truly huge cordyline that is next to the front door & also blocks the window we keep snipping leaves away to avoid being stabbed every time we walk past but it really needs a massive prune & wouldnt like to lose it altogether but no idea where to start
Hi Julie, When you say being stabbed, are the leaves sharp? If so it will be a yucca not a Cordyline.
Oops sorry jack your obviously dealing with a top gardener here ! Sorry , yes the plant is huge & the ends of the leaves are sharply pointed
No worries at all! It’s worth looking it up as I’ve not hard pruned a yucca but believe they’re even tougher!
Thanks Jack, at least I now know whats its called 🙂
Hi Jack
The cordyline in my garden looks great zany is around 3 mts tall now. Last year it flowered for the first time a live spike full of white flowers and then seeds that birds were very keen on.
In the past month there were probably some flowers and seeds left but now is just the spike. Should I cut it.
Sorry another question I have taken away the leaves when they get brown and dry and hang down. Should I do this regularly when leaves start to sleep down even if they are not completely brown and dead?
Thank you for any advice.
Best Ingrid
Remove all the leaves when they become relatively easy to pull off to keep plant looking its best.
Cut the flower remains off when it becomes dry too.
One point worth a mensh is that if the trunk below where you pollard the trunk, produces lots of shoots then chop pthat off and quadrant the trunk and pot up. Startt off in the greenhouse if you have one, and you should have 4 nice pot plants. Meanwhile the cut trunk wil produce new babies.
Hi Jack,
I ordered a cordyline australis verde online and today I received a cordyline indivisa. Is there a big difference between the two and how big will it grow? Also, will need compost/ fertiliser when I plant it?
Thank you in advance
Nigel
Hi Jack, I have a great looking 15 year old multi- headed Cordyline (8 heads) and it’s around18’ high. It continually flowers from all the heads every spring but has now also sprouted 3 more shoots off the main trunk about 5 feet up from ground level. They are now about 8” long. I don’t really want anymore branches but its always seemed to be a very healthy tree and was wondering if you can advise if it’s possible to cut the shoots off close to the trunk, stick them in some potting compost and grow them on in the same way as if they were suckers out from the root? Many thanks.
Yes you can 🙂
Hi Jack
Can you root prune a cordyline that is planted in a pot? I’ve got one in a ceramic pot and you can see some roots around the top of the soil line. I assume if I remove it from the pot it will be full of roots. I really don’t want to put it into a larger pot, as it matches others in the garden, but not sure whether trimming the roots down a little will kill it.
Thanks
hi jack how do you stop a coreadylia from growing any bigger. I dont want it too tall so i cannot maintain it.
hi jack my coreadylia is six feet high and i do not want it to grow any taller. Please can you help me?
Hi can you advise why my leavers are going green?
Hi Jack I have a 20 year old cordyline which is around 20 foot tall with many branches and flowering pods at the top. There is also a well established branch coming off the main trunk about 8 foot up from the ground which I would like to saw off to keep it from growing outwards so low down. Can I just saw this off without killing the tree? Many thanks Mark
Yes no problem at all.
Jack
Hi Jack, great write up above. So thanks for that. I’m struggling with one of these trees, we’ve relocated a 20’ tree from a neighbours garden to mine, all the top of the tree has turned from green to brown and I feel we are losing it. What would you recommend doing with it, keeping up the watering etc? Or trimming it down for new growth? Thanks
Hi Wayne, that’s normal. If you can reach, the brown old leaves just pull off easily.
Jack
I have a palm tree in the middle of my garden, it’s about 12feet tall all the leaves lately are starting to fall off I hope it’s not dying because it was planted the year of the very bad snow but it survived and is almost 10 years old how to get it back to health. If it is dying.
I have inherited three cordylines which are very bushy and close to the ground. Is there any way of ‘training’ them to grow upwards instead of outwards? Thanks
Unfortunately not, only way is to give more sunlight
Hi I’m not sure if this chat still going ? But I have this tree and gone completely at the top and is now shooting from the bottom ? So we chop down and let it regrow ? Many thanks
Hi Faye,
Yes if there are new shoots I would cut to just above those shoots 🙂
Jack
Hi Jack
First caveat – I know nothing about cordylines !
We moved to this house on the east coast of Scotland about 41/2 years ago and in front there were 2 massive “ palm” trees as well as lots of overgrown bushes . We had everything cleared out as the trees were too close to the windows and the tree surgeon said the “palm trees “ were actually cordylines.
Anyway , one seems to be regrowing as a bush. Just green leaves and no trunk at all . I quite like it looking like that . I don’t want it to grow any higher. Should I keep cutting down to ground level and if so how often and when ?
Hi Nina, yes keep cutting it down to maintain that. Perhaps every few years or whenever they get too big.
Hi I think I have a few cordyline but someone said it’s a yucca do not sure , back in April it looked amazing but since it flowered this years the leaves are turning yellow and daily I’m picking a lot up from the ground
Hi great article! Our cordalines are growing way too large. How do you prune one? I tried to cut the actual leaves once (as they were overhanging some other plants so we were desperate) but it didnt go well as the leaves then obviously looked terrible! Do you have any tips to keep the size under control please? Thank you
Hi Jack,
I was given my palm by a neighbour who didn’t want it anymore but they had dug it up with not much love and as a result of the coming months all the leaves dropped and went yellow/brown. I’m panic I started to take them off in hope it would get better. Please can you give me some advice as it’s likely to be died but I really want to bring it back as it was a gorgeous large palm.
If there’s green it’s still alive 🙂
Jack
Hi Jack – Our pink cordyline is 6 years old and was healthy until now. Not sure what the issue is, but here’s what happened. A new growth started to emerge from the very bottom in the hot summer and looked great. I peeled off a few old leaves from the original trunk. Maybe 2 weeks have passed and all the leaves seem to be losing their vibrant color. Leaves that used to be vibrant pink are quickly fading to a light brown. Seems to be moving from the bottom up. Is the plant in trouble? Should I be doing something with the new growth? Was it wrong to peel off the old leaves or is the hot summer/watering part of the issue? I’m obviously not an expert, but I love this cordyline and would like to do what’s best for it. Thanks very much!
Hi Jeff, that is totally normal, it’s just how the plant grows and how the leaves change as they age.
Jack
Thanks Jack. I have to be honest and admit that the color change is happening fast and the plant suddenly looks unhealthy. The new growth at the bottom looks dead to me. And the unhealthy/dead looking leaves are quickly advancing from the bottom to the top. More unhealthy/dead leaves every day. I wish I knew how to show you a picture.
Hi I would like to take a cutting from my cordyline tree I have spouts at the bottom of the tree can they be cut and replanted
Hi, I have a huge cordyline with about 8 10ft stems. I have just cut 2 of the side ones off at the base to more light. My question is, If i replant the 2 I have cut off, will they grow? If so what compost shoukd I plant them In?
It’s certainly possible with younger shoots and worth a try – I’ve never done this myself so can’t say for sure but would be interested if you can test it and report back!
Jack
Hi Jack
I’ve just received a coraline and wonder if I need to bring it inside until the weather is better? Thanks
Hi Sarah, it depends where you are. They are reasonably hardy to -5C which is most of the southern UK. It’s hard frosts that might affect them.
Hi I’m in Nottingham. At the minute I am putting it in the gazebo overnight
Hello Jack, I am thinking of buying one to plant in a tier in my garden to add texture and year round colour and life to the garden. I have a couple of concerns that I would appreciate your advice on. Firstly, is it possible to show a photo of yours as it is now, since it’s haircut!? 🙂
We want to plant other evergreens around it such as ferns. Should this be OK? How quickly does it grow in height? As the tier is walled, is it possible for the roots to push out the stone as it gets well established and if there is a problem like this, would it be difficult to uproot the plant! Lastly, can it grow well in a pot without the need of repotting? If it does need repotting, then how regularly. Could we potentially grow it in a pot that is sunken into the ground so it could be moved location wise if necessary? Many thanks
Hi Nicola
I wouldn’t plant something intentionally that will outgrow the space. It’s better to choose something that won’t need serious pruning like this as it will never look quite natural and there’s a risk of disease to the plant.
Planting next to the wall is fine as they have fairly fibrous small roots, although they can dry soil out in summer.
I wouldn’t ever plant something in a pot in the ground unless you need to restrict its growth and most plants hate that eventually becoming unwell from lack of nutrients. The only exception I can think of is fig that is happy being restricted in this way in a very large 50cm+ pot.
Hope that helps.
Jack
Hi jack my cordyline australis is about 13 tall he looks a bit down is he dying or should I cut of top start again , I have gave him fish blood food , and new compost but I cant get to his old leaves at the top , need some advice he my feature
I have 3 cordyline australis which are over 10 years old recently they have turned mushy inside and the leaves are dropping off can it be saved????
Sounds like it’s been damaged by frost but will probably reshoot lower down
Hi jack I have a cordyline Australis, it’s grown up 10ft or more and lots of branches come off it, but another branch at the base is shooting up now to now 6ft tall if I wanted to cut this one off completely, someone said it will leak fluid and I could destroy or damage the tree is this true.. I’d love to send you a photo as I definitely dont want to destroy the tree itself, also can to take cuttings from the big shoots off the main stem or will that damage it.. many thanks Rachel
Hi, i had to move my Cordyline around April, its arund 5ft and now its not looking good on the top, the slightest wind is bending the leaves over and not much new growth, would i be better chopping it back a foot or so on the trunk to enable new shoots while we have a few months of summer remaining,,thank you
hi there my tree has grown a massive shoot with lots of white floers on it right in the centre what can i do as its so big its bowed over the main tree. i dont want to kill my tree i cant put a pic here to show you but its huge!
Hi Jack, We have a cordyline Australis, it standing at around 23′ over 20 years old, My pride and joy in the garden…..Leaves all started to go yellow on every branch after its yearly maintenance of getting rid of all the old dead leaves up in the canopy and over the last couple of months its now looking quite sparce and continuingly falling out and many of the smaller branches have become very spongy, it didnt flower until mid June (quite Late) but a fantastic display, it continues to loose leaves everyday but the new growth looking nice and green but yellow at the trunk? I did notice early spring that bark was falling off the main trunk and continues to do so and minimal new growth on the trunk this year where I normally see 4 or 5 any advice please
Hi Jack please help. I have a cordaline australis. It’s about 10foot tall. I love the plant but I need it to now not grow any bigger. Can I cut out the middle at the top to stop it growing or will that kill it? Any help greatly appreciated.
That’s exactly what I did in the main post so yes it will be fine. Cut it in the middle or at the base. I’d cut it at the base and start again to avoid the cut stem always showing. There’s always a risk in doing these things that it might die for whatever reason, but I haven’t heard of a cordyline that hasn’t grown back yet.
Jack
Hi Jack,
Hope you can help,
I’ve recently inherited 2 austtalis trees, and have planted the larger in the ground and the smaller in a tub.
The larger one seems to be doing well, and I have no concerns with it, but the smaller one is going “spongy” along a section of the trunk.
It still has plenty of green leaves, but is looking a bit droopy.
What can I do to revive it ?
Regards,
Steve
Hi Jack
This post is really helpful, thank you. We planted 3 new cordylines in a row next to our existing one 3 years ago. They were only 2-3 feet when we planted them and they’re all now about 10 feet tall! They’re obviously happy! They are the perfect height now to give us a good screen from our neighbours. Is there any way to encourage new branches to shoot from the main trunk without pillaring and losing the greenery we already have? We’d love the growth to start to become horizontal rather than just vertical! Thanks, Amanda
Hi Amanda,
There isn’t really – the good news is that they will naturally branch soon don’t worry 🙂
Jack
Hi Jack
Have a 15 ft cordolyne australis which is looking pretty good, I do keep the thing trimmed. Now at the top is a second shoot meaning it looks as if it’s going to develop into a v shape (hope that makes sense) Am i better off cutting off one of these, and not risking the palm getting out of shape
Totally up to you Jim, I would personally let them grow naturally 🙂
Jack
Hi Jack, I’ve got two fabulous looking mature multi branched Cordyline trees each now around 15-18 ft tall. We have a problem year when they each sprout around half a dozen or more large flower bunches. When that happens they both shed their existing green leaves at such a huge rate that it makes them look very bare and rather sad looking throughout the rest of the summer. Presumably the trees are ‘feeding’ the flowers to the detriment of the foliage? If I get up there and try to crop the flowers off when they first start to appear, is there any danger of harming the trees … and would it in any case, stop the shedding process? Would very much appreciate your thoughts.🤗
Hi Lindon,
I don’t think the shedding is to do with the flowering, that’s their natural cycle. When the leaves shed are any green ones left at all?
Jack
Thanks very much for your reply. Both trees normally have lots of really full on thick foliage on all branches which up to a about 4 years ago slowly died off and turned brown as normally expected Those brown ones hung around nearly all year before slowly dropping off. I didn’t lop them because I thought they might provide the trunks with some protection against frost damage, even though we live on the south coast.
But now, since the flowering started (around 4-5 years ago) there is zero brown leaves, they don’t get a chance to die off and turn brown.
The green leaves start to drop as the flowering starts, in fact the ground cover is normally the first sign that draws our attention to the fact that the flowers are starting to peak through again.
After a couple of weeks the ground is covered in hundreds of green, seemingly very healthy leaves which goes on throughout the summer months.
Over that time, the process results in around 70-80% loss of green foliage on all branches. As the flowers then start to fade and droop so the foliage starts to increase again. By early autumn they are back to their full glory!
Both trees also occasionally sprout new shoots half way down the main trunks in the spring, I lop them off, as already having around 6-7 branches, each with really full ‘heads’, albeit now only in the autumn and winter months, I don’t want anymore getting themselves established.
I was wondering if I could preempt the drop this spring and if getting rid of the flowers as soon as they appear if it’d result in keeping the attractive appearance through the summer! 🤔
Hmm, that is a puzzle, I haven’t heard of this before – I guess there is one way to find out and that’s to try cutting them off this year and seeing the difference? Treat it as an experiment. I suspect it is caused by another problem but would be very happy to be proven wrong.
Yep, thanks Jack. I did wonder if you’d come across this before. I’ve not noticed others having this kinda huge drop of green leaves. They are truly magnificent trees which when in full glory, have probably the best balanced shape and structure across all branches I’ve seen around.
As you suggest, only one way to find out … and so I’ll get ready to get my ladder out! Can’t really see that chopping the flowers off should cause any harm.
Thanks again for your responses Jack, I’ll let ya know what the outcomes are later in the year.
Best regards.
Definitely won’t cause harm, just a shame and a faff but interesting to see if it works. Pls keep us updated! Good luck
Jack
Hi Jack, chasing some info on removal of 4 x cordyline Red Stars that are around 4 mtrs tall, past gutter height and about 40 to 50cm from wall of house.
We are afraid the root system will damage house foundations. Any suggestions on how to remove them please. They’ve been there approx 19 yrs
Cheers Helen
Hi Helen,
You’d really need to consult a local gardener or tree surgeon who can come and look at them in situ. But I wouldn’t expect cordylines to have any impact on house foundations.
Jack
Hi Jack have 2 cordylines both in pots, roughly 5 foot high including pots. Was considering pinching out the growing tips to encourage them to branch out 🤔 any thoughts on this and would it work? Many thanks
Hi Jack
I have 2 australis red stars.
One got badly winter damaged, went brown etc. I was going to bin it till I red this post re pollarding it as you did to yours…so I thought I’d have a go and see if I could rescue it. I pollarded it to approx 15cm high on 24th june 2022 (as that’s when I came across your post) and repotted it. I’ve been watering and watching etc but nothings has happened, no shoots from anywhere, and it’s now Sept 9th…shall I call it a dead cordyline or shall I wait? What do you think please?
Regs
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
If you try scraping some of the bark, if it’s green beneath they are still alive. If not, I’d remove them. It sounds like they might have died before you pollarded them unfortunately.
Jack
I would love to see how your cordyline looks now some 4 years later. I am thinking of doing the same and would love to see how it might turn out. Many thanks
Hi Michelle,
I’m afraid we’ve moved now. It simply are back with new branches from the cut.
If I were to do it again, I would but it at the base to avoid the stump higher up.
Jack