North Yorkshire,
United Kingdom 
I have had a Cordyline Australis planted in the garden for some years now it is 14 foot high and flowered for the first time this year I noticed early in the summer the bark started to split and seperate from the trunk now it is dropping off there is no slimy bits all quite dry it is throwing up lots of off shoots from the base should I cut the tree down and allow the offshoots to grow on.
On plant
Cordyline Australis
20 Aug, 2010
Answers
As Bamboo says, cut away the damaged stem. If it's throwing up new shoots, then that in itself is an indication that it's struggling upstairs, and is already trying to replace what it knows will fail. The new shoots will quickly make up the difference, and the plnt will be all the more interesting stucturally
Phil J
20 Aug, 2010
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If the trunk is deteriorating, yes, cut it down.
20 Aug, 2010