Cordyline indivisa

Cordyline indivisa.
Left - old plants growing in Logan Botanical Gardens on the west coast of Scotland where they are frequently subjected to salt laden storm force winds. They are growing in an exposed position in the garden in full sun. Originally from both islands of New Zealand where the fibres in its leaves are extracted for use in weaving and are reputedly stronger than those of the New Zealand flax.
Middle - a plant growing in Wakehurst Place in a position where it gets some shade. Notice how much broader the leaves are than in the photo to the left. There may be slighlty different forms of this plant but it also tends to grow bigger leaves in shadier more sheltered positions. It prefers full sun to light shade and light sandy soil. It is remarkably difficult to establish when planting out from a container into the ground. The reasons for this are not known but we have had success with plants that have been fairly root bound before planting and planting the specimen in its pot, whereafter the roots grow out of the holes in the bottom of the pot and encounter their new soil gradually.
Right - here you can see the bold orange coloured stripe that runs down the centre of the leaves. There are many other narrower stripes of different colours in every leaf, making this a spectacular plant close up as well as from a distance.