Cordyline. 10 years old.

Looks wonderful Stan nice planting there too.

I found an old post I made on another plant board where I had just bought it and said that it was supposedly only to reach 3'. Had no idea- nobody did- that it would grow 6' trunks alone. Maybe larger as more time goes by.

Yes they do grow big Stan my son had the green ones in his garden grew 15ft.

It looks very good.

Penny,

The green form in the SF Bay Area can easily grow to more than 30' (10 m) tall.

Wow that is big thank you Andy.

Cordyline australis is the big green one. This is a hybrid of Cordyline banksii. With what I dont know..might be C.australis.
The original C.banksii is a plain green shrubby thing. The taller-so far a little taller- hybrid is a standout.

Thank you Stan is Cordyline banksii hardy.

Stan, do you think it may be a hybrid with fruiticosa?

Most are hardy and native to New Zealand.

San Marcos growers says its a cultivar of C.banksii and they say "some" say x with C.australis. They mention its Phormium like growth. They dont say if its a hybrid of a Phormium with a Cordyline. If that's even possible.
My plant was nothing but foliage until I over did the fertilizer..you could not see any trunk before then. Soon,the lower will fill that in again.
Its a great no care plant..dont overdo it on anything..heat,cold,fertilizer..otherwise it needs nothing but the occasional watering.

It has to be crossed with Cordyline australis 'Purpurea'. The coloring must come from somewhere, right?

I dont know. There are more Cordyline species native to New Zealand that they might have used..one sent out a red clone?
It is a mystery as why something now so popular has no parentage facts. Plus,the other colors dont seem to be traced back either. I like the yellow striped one. The largest I've seen was a single trunk about 3'. Not a single sucker on it...again a mix of something.

It is pretty amazing the parentage cannot be tracked!