code: 735
similar to a “Dragon Tree” or dracaena
Family: Agavaceae
Plant Classification: Hardy tree Half hardy tree
Minimum Height: 50 cm
Maximum Height: 3.0 meters
Packet Content(approx.): 20+
“New Zealand Tie-Palm”. A long lived ‘palm’ producing a slowly thickening trunk, carrying at the top a rosette of long, purple, strap-shaped leaves. This tree is in the same family, and similar to a “Dragon Tree” or dracaena, but is much hardier in winter, and easier and faster to grow. Older plants grow enormous panicles of deeply scented white flowers in early summer, the perfume can be overpowering on warm nights, and these later produce white berries in autumn and winter. Severe winters can kill the leaves but this invariably results in the trunk sprouting several heads. Seeds are only infrequently produced but come almost 100% true.
Sowing advice:
For best results, sow seeds immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. However, we sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, and often wait for spring before emerging regardless of when they are sown. But spring sowing will obviously give them a full season of growth if successful germination occurs.
