Cordyline australis Charlie boy - Cabbage Tree

Cordyline australis Charlie Boy, still not widely available, is particularly interesting for its resistance to cold and wet climates. With its small size and beautiful foliage, pink-edged on a purple background, this variety is suitable for small gardens as well as for growing in pots or as an indoor plant during the winter. Its fluorescent palm-like appearance always creates a great impact, and it is always a pleasant surprise when its large fragrant white-pink panicles of flowers appear in summer. In the ground, this superb perennial plant should be reserved for regions spared from severe frosts.

Cordyline australis is a tree-like perennial plant belonging to the agave family, endemic to New Zealand. In its natural habitat, this plant can reach a height of 20m (65 ft 7 in) and forms a robust trunk that branches out into numerous leafy heads, which can grow up to 1m (3 ft 4 in) long. The cordyline is found in a wide range of habitats, such as forest edges, riverbanks, and open areas, particularly near marshes.

The Charlie Boy variety distinguishes itself with its small size, slow growth, and remarkably colourful foliage. Once well-established, it can survive short frosts of around -10°C. The plant has a rosette-like leafy habit in its juvenile state (for several years), and then it forms a small tree with a single trunk and branches adorned with leafy tufts. This variety typically reaches an average height of 1.50m (4 ft 11 in), with a spread of 80cm. Its evergreen leaves are long and narrow, sword-shaped, pointed and slightly arching, and measure 40 to 80 cm in length and 3 to 7 cm in width at the base. They have numerous parallel veins and are richly coloured. Flowering occurs in summer on mature plants with a trunk. Each branch can develop once it has produced a flower stalk. The small white-pink flowers, nectar-rich and delicately scented, are borne on large dense panicles measuring 60 to 80 cm in length. The fruit is a white round berry measuring 5 to 7 mm in diameter and highly appreciated by birds. On mature plants, the trunk bark is pale to dark grey, corky and fissured, and has a spongy texture.

Resistant to wind and sea spray, it is a good plant for coastal areas, in moderately dry soil. The Cordyline Charlie Boy can be planted in the centre of a bed, as a small tree in a row, as a windbreak, or as a solitary plant in a temperate garden, as it particularly enjoys coastal climates. It can be grown anywhere in a large pot that can be moved from the terrace to an unheated or minimally heated conservatory in winter. In pots, it is necessary to ensure proper watering and feeding. This remarkable plant, just like bananas, proteas, cannas, Grevillea, bamboos, giant miscanthus, or castor oil plants, will give a truly exotic look to our gardens and terraces.