Brendan Woods asked 16 years ago
My four Cordyline Trees, despite their not unattractive appearance, are 15 foot high and a maintenance burden with their constant shedding of numerous long leaves and seperate flowering panicles attracting hosts of starlings with resultant nuisance. Can they be coppiced or shortened to half their height, if so would they survive or should I remove them permanently.
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 7 years ago
Cordylines offer an exotic appearance. The leaves shedding can be a nuisance especially on a lawn or paving. They can be cut back to any height in spring and will sprout again as multi-stemmed trees. The value of the trunk and shape will be lost for a time.
While hard pruning will solve the problem of leaves shedding for a couple of years, the new stems will eventually shed too.
The decision to make is whether they are worthwhile for their decorative value. You could consider reducing the number. To remove one, cut it down and remove any new shoots it produces, until it stops.
