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www.taranakidailynews.co.nz Friday, October 1, 2010 TARANAKI DAILY NEWS 13

GARDENING www.taranakidailynews.co.nz

Propagatingcordylines: a step-by-step guide with Abbieand Mark Jury.

Photos: ABBIE JURY

1Most cordylines or cabbage trees grow a solid, fleshy tap rootbelow the soil and it is easy to increase plants from sectionsof these roots, commonly called toes. This particular cordyline

is an Australian species, stricta, but it shows similar structurebelow ground to our most common New Zealand cordyline, whichis confusingly named Cordyline australis.

2Taking the toes off this cordyline will reduce the size of the root mass and allowme to replant it back to the same pot with fresh mix and fertiliser. Containerplants are best repotted annually if possible and will generally deteriorate badly

if you leave them any longer than three years without repotting.

3Shake off the mix. Wash it off if necessary so you can see what is there. Thesame steps apply if you are lifting a cordyline out of the garden. We have nevertried taking the toes off a large, established plant while leaving it in the ground,

although you can presumably do it without killing the plant because Maori used toharvest the toes as kauru – a form of starch similar to root vegetables. Try diggingin from one side of the plant only if you plan to try this.

4Because the toes can be very tough, a sharp spade or sawmay be needed to cut the lower section off. We cut around15cm off the bottom of the central root system of the plant.

5If you wash the cut section, you are better able to see whatyou are doing. Cut the roots off the toes. They will die backanyway. If you want plenty of plants, cut the biggest toes

into sections but don’t go much smaller than about 3cm in length.

6Pot the toes fairly close to the surface, either flat or on end(cut side up on the whole toes because that is the top) inseed raising mix (low nutrient potting mix). Do not let them

get too wet or they may rot. Within a few months, they will besprouting afresh as shown on this toe of Cordyline Red Fountain.

Calanthe orchidsOrchids are one of the largest and mostcomplex groups in the plant world –fearfully complicated to try to navigateyour way through.

Our interest here is in orchids asgarden plants and one of the starperformers is the calanthe family.These are called ground orchids orterrestrial orchids – in other wordsthey are happy to grow in good gardensoil. In the right conditions, you canplant them and leave them alone formany years where they just gentlybuild up and make a better displaywith more flower spikes.

There are well over 150 differentspecies of calanthes and inevitablysome will be better and showier asgarden plants in our conditions thanothers. There is a bit of a questionmark over the correct name for thislovely soft yellow one – probably a formof sieboldii or striata.

Most of the calanthes come fromtropical and sub-tropical Asia and aregenerally evergreen. Presumably theforms thriving with us are the sub-tropical types because tropical we arenot. We use them as woodland plantsand have only once ever had themtickled up by a vicious frost. Their onlydownside is that they are quite leafyand the foliage hangs on for grim deathlong after it has become tatty andshredded. They benefit from an

occasional tidy up. The new growthcomes in spring and is quite lush sothat every year garden visitors ask uswhich variety the yellow-floweredhosta is.

Probably because orchids are such acomplex plant family, orchid societiescontinue to grow, show and share when

many other specialist groups have goneout of existence. They are a friendlyand knowledgeable bunch and if youwant to start building up a collection,either joining the local branch orvisiting their shows is the best place tostart.

– Abbie Jury