Chocolate Queen Cordyline

Chocolate Queen Cordyline (Cordyline fruticosa 'Chocolate Queen') is grown for foliage that does what most flowers cannot. Broad upright leaves emerge streaked cream, bronze and pink, then deepen to chocolate and burgundy as they age, so a single plant carries several tones at once. It grows to about 2m tall and only 1m wide, which makes it a strong vertical accent in a bed too narrow for a shrub.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that never stops. The variegation is in the leaf, not in a flower, so the display runs every day of the year.
• Narrow and upright. At roughly 2m by 1m it adds height in a bed, a pot or a courtyard corner without spreading sideways.
• Heat and humidity suit it. It performs through a northern summer that flattens most colourful foliage plants.
• It works indoors too. In a bright position inside it holds its colour and stays manageable, which makes it a genuine crossover plant for southern gardens.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One plant against a rendered wall or dark foliage backdrop is enough. The colour needs contrast to read properly, and a busy mixed bed swallows it.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. A pot 400mm or wider gives it room and holds it closer to 1.5m. The narrow footprint suits a balcony where floor space is the constraint.

Mass planting and indoors. Plant 60cm apart for a continuous coloured screen about 2m high. Indoors, bright indirect light is the practical option in cold southern gardens.

Growing Chocolate Queen Cordyline in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade to filtered sun gives the richest colour. Full sun bleaches the leaves inland, while deep shade turns them greener. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens, and being frost tender it needs to be an indoor plant anywhere that frosts.

Soil. Rich, free draining and moisture retentive. Work compost through the bed before planting, and use a good quality potting mix in containers. It resents both drying out completely and standing in water.

Water and feed. Keep the soil evenly damp through the warm months, checking pots every two to three days in summer, then ease back over winter. Brown crispy leaf tips mean irregular watering or salts in tap water.

Pruning. Strip off the lower leaves as they yellow to keep the cane clean. When a plant becomes tall and bare below, cut the cane back to 30cm to 50cm in spring and it will reshoot.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes: tube stock, 140mm pots in packs of ten and 200mm pots in packs of six. Tubes are young, often a single head of leaves, and they suit a mass planting because cordylines grow quickly once warm. The larger sizes give a usable feature within a season.

Broad leaved plants show transit marks, so expect some creasing or edge browning in a box. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and colour takes a few months to settle. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Designing a tropical garden that stays lush year round
• Browse the full cordyline range
• Compare tropical foliage plants
• Plants suited to balconies and courtyards

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. Cordyline fruticosa contains saponins and is toxic to cats and dogs if the leaves are chewed, typically causing drooling, vomiting and loss of appetite. Keep it out of reach if your pet chews foliage.

Will it survive winter outside in Melbourne or Canberra?

No. It is frost tender, and cold damages the growing tip well before a real frost arrives. In cool temperate gardens grow it in a pot indoors or on a warm sheltered verandah.

Why has mine gone green?

Not enough light. Deep shade pushes the plant to produce more chlorophyll and the chocolate and pink tones fade out. Move it to filtered sun and the new leaves come through coloured again.