Tangelo Cordyline

Tangelo Cordyline (Cordyline fruticosa 'Tangelo') runs tangerine, coral and lime striping through every leaf, so it holds colour all year rather than for the few weeks a flowering shrub gives you. It settles at around 1.8m tall and 1m wide, upright rather than spreading, which suits a narrow tropical bed or a large courtyard pot. Colour is strongest in bright filtered light.

Why you'll love it

• Colour without a flowering season. The foliage does all the work, so you are never waiting on a bloom for the bed to look finished.
• Height in a narrow footprint. About 1.8m tall in a 1m spread, which lifts a planting without pushing into a path.
• Built for warm, humid and coastal sites. Heat, humidity and salt tolerant, so subtropical courtyards and beachside gardens suit it.
• A genuinely good pot plant. Growth is moderate rather than rushed, so it keeps its shape in a container for several years.

Where it works best

Poolside and paved surrounds. Salt and heat tolerance are the two things that matter beside a pool, and it holds its leaves rather than shedding constantly.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. One plant in a pot 400mm or wider reads as a feature, and three along a balcony wall give a band of colour at eye height.

Mass planting and feature planting. Set plants 60cm apart for a massed tropical bed, or use single specimens either side of a doorway.

A caution for pet owners. The foliage contains saponins and is toxic to cats and dogs if chewed, so keep it out of reach.

Growing Tangelo Cordyline in Australia

Position and climate. Bright filtered light or part shade gives the best colour: hard sun scorches the leaf margins, deep shade turns the striping green. This is a plant for tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It is frost tender, so in cool temperate and frosting inland districts grow it in a pot you can shift under cover.

Soil. Free draining and rich. Work compost through the backfill, plant on a raised mound on heavy clay, and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Keep the root zone evenly damp through summer and drier over winter. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring and mid summer keeps the new leaves large and well marked.

Pruning. None required. If a stem grows leggy, cut it back to any height and it will shoot again below the cut, usually with two or three heads.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in two sizes: tube stock, and 200mm pots in packs of six. Tube plants are young and single stemmed, the sensible choice for a long bed if you can wait a season. The 200mm plants are established and already showing full colour, and a pack of six plants a run of roughly 3m at 60cm spacing.

Cordylines travel well, though a creased leaf tip after transit is normal and grows out. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect three or four quiet weeks, then new growth in warm weather, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to use cordylines through a garden
• Compare the full cordyline range
• Plants that suit a poolside garden
• Low maintenance tropical planting around a pool

Common questions

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

No. The leaves contain saponins, toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, causing drooling and vomiting. It is rarely serious, but plant it up high if your pet chews foliage.

How much sun does it need for the best colour?

Bright filtered light, or morning sun with afternoon shade. Full sun burns the leaf edges in a hot inland summer, while full shade turns the striping green.

How far apart should I plant it for a massed bed?

Sixty centimetres apart. At that spacing the heads meet and read as one continuous run of colour, with air between the stems.