Reviving a Leggy Cordyline (Hawaiian Ti Plant)

From Sad Specimen to Colorful Focal Point

A gardener found a neglected red-leafed plant in an overgrown yard and wants identification and care.

Nick identifies it as Cordyline terminalis—Red Sister, Pink Sister, or Hawaiian Ti Plant. This specimen is leggy and sparse but can recover.

Move to morning sun, afternoon shade.
Apply Miracle-Gro.
Water when soil begins to dry.
If too leggy, cut the top off and root it beside the base—the original will resprout from the cut.

Ti plants root readily from stem cuttings, making rejuvenation simple.

Tropical Plants: Red Apple Ice Plant Collapse: Water Management and Recovery; Photinia Leaf Spot: Fungal Disease Requiring Ongoing Management; Best Time to Plant Red Tip Photinia: Fall, With a Disease Warning; Mystery Cactus with Red "Cigarette" Flowers: Stephanocereus or Thrixanthocereus; Is "Red Fern" a Real Plant?; Should You Cut the Flower Stalk on a Young Red Dragon Venus Flytrap?; Drosera capensis 'Red Leaf' in Extreme Heat: Managing Root Temperature; To Flower or Not: Drosera filiformis Bloom Management; Why Red Emerald Philodendron Leaves Won't Unfold; Abyssinian Red (Banana Plant) Overwatered by Caretaker: Move Outdoors, Dry Out, Hope for Recovery

Garden Articles

Plants