Not an easy question to answer Suzydea.

In general, cordies do better in the ground than in a pot. I had five or six until last winter, all in the garden and all doing well. However, the weather last year before Christmas managed to kill them all off despite them being wrapped in fleece (yes, outdoor cordies are a bit more work) and you still may lose them in a very bad winter. It wasn't just me, they are very popular round here on the coast where winters are usually mild, and there wasn't one alive for miles by February, so it is a risk that you take. But then there is also the risk of a potted cordy dying of malnutrition, which it seems yours now is. They are, of course, more suited to their native Australian climate than the British one and will always present a challenge in the UK, even in West Wales which is generally milder than Yorkshire where I am, unless of course you are at a high elevation. You must make up your own mind which is the greater risk but I would tend to re-harden it off next late spring and then plant out, fleecing it in early November through March/early April. After all, I lost my first one through keeping it in a pot some 30 years ago and have never regretted keeping the others outside, even the red ones which are less hardy than the green. Good luck.

Hi

I live in South Wales all mine died this year as well as most people I only see a few that survived when traveling in to work.
Since it is in a pot I would keep it out side by the house wall .
And if and when the weather gets realy bad you could bring it in to the cool of the house , plus they do drop the bottom leaves .
I had one in a pot every two years to keep it a managable size I would take it out of the pot and use a saw cut through the rootball and drop it back into the pot and fill up the pot with fresh compost would re-root from the stem into the compost.
The rooball that I had cut off I would put in a large pot and cover with compost and it would send up new baby plants that I would spit up the following year
In April either feed with Tomato feed every two weeks or use a slow release fertiliser for the growing season
Hope I have explained this enough if not let me know

Gg

Thank you so much to Sarraceniac and Gnarly Gnome for your help and advice - one other thing though - what about the heavy rain we seem to have here in West Wales? If I put the pot back outside, will the rain do even more harm? Also, my Aunt had potted it in a huge pot but it looks as though she just used garden soil rather than compost - should I risk re-potting it at this time of year into fresh compost? Any advice would be welcome and I thank you in advance.

As long as it has good drainage, the rain should not be too much problem. One of the problems with pots though is that the drainage is usually not too good so if you are keeping it potted then make sure it is a big pot and put plenty of rubble in the bottom. The other problem is keeping it fed in a pot. A good loam should be OK but if you can't get a good loam then compost is your best choice, but again, get a good one not your £4 for 70 litres supermarket stuff. And feed every few weeks, particularly in summer and re-pot regularly every couple of years.

Once again, thank you for your advice and it has been very useful - I also note your comments about getting a good loam. Do you think I should re-pot it now or risk leaving it until the early Spring.
Many thanks

Hi Just leave a lone until April (no risk ) more of a risk if you do it now !!!! then re pot plus you could use a saw and slice some of the bottom roots off when you repot , honestly it works a treat and they are more tough than you think the stem that goes into the soil will re root .
I use to take half off and no damage done to the plant , it stores a lot of its food in the stem I think mine died in 2010 and it lived on its stores as it flowered its little socks off and then it all turned brown such a shame !!

John innes no3 would be ideal but also add xtra grit , plus the weight helps when the wind is blowing to keep the pot upright

Gg

Thank you sooooooo much for all this advice - what a useful site this is!!

I also live in S.Wales and had a multi stemmed cordyline until we had 2 freezing winters .One after the other. I had also given the top a good crop as it was so full of leaves and dead flowers.Needless to say it didn't survive last winters big freeze.The whole trunk went rotten and I sawed it all off about a foot from the ground.It opened up a big piece of garden for me!However there are now 5 new babies now shooting up in it's place so my advice would be to put it into sheltered spot in ground and don't worry they are tough plants and are better out of a pot.Fleece it in winter if you like .Also the dead leaves need pulling off as this is the trunk.