A classic New Zealand icon with single stem and round head. Clusters of scented flowers (spring). Best planted at the back of a shrubbery to limit spread of old leaves.
New selection with rich red arching foliage. It is a Cordyline banksii hybrid which will grow a trunk to a metre or more. Likes sun or shade and rich soil, but does not like wet conditions.
Now combined with the Norfolk Is. Cordyline obtecta. Broad green foliage. Short 1m trunk can sprout from the base. Round branching head is most handsome.