Yeah, same thing.

If you have it long enough, you get a long stem with leaves, sometimes a couple of branches. Once in while they even flower.

How tall? How fast? Depends on many variables. Soil, light watering practices, all the usual stuff.

Cool! Thanks!

Yes, they call them 'spikes' sometimes. The tree in the bottom left corner (D. marginata) was bought as a 'spike' about a dozen years ago. Just a puff of foliage coming from the soil. It grew much taller, and grew 2 secondary trunks about 2-3 years ago. I broke the tall, main trunk, trying to bend it into a spiral with a wire coat hanger last summer. So what's left are the twin secondary trunks. (The top is propagated in another pot around here somewhere...)

Morning All & Happy 4th,

A1, most big box stores here sell quite a few house plants as annuals. Too many to name.

The most common is Cordyline...common name, False Dracaena..though I think, 'not 100% sure,' Cordy's and Dracaenas are related..

One thing for sure, house plants sold as annuals are a heck of a lot cheaper than the same plant sold as a house plant.

Purple, nice garden. You've never posted that view before..Very pretty.

Is your car a Toyota? Looks exactly like mine..same color and body.. Toni

Purp, it looks like that one large pot has a bunch of baby pots.

Thanks, Toni! Above pic is from mid-March. One from 6/3 below. Not Toyota, Lincoln.

LOL, Rhizo! Since they're all different plants, I don't know what that says about that plants' social habits. It's out there unattended all night most of the year, you know. Are you rained-in today too?

Purp..well, colors match anyway. lol

Is your bush a rose? Flowers resemble Gardina, but I don't know if 'denias are hardy in AL???

What's the red flower next to Bromiliad? It's beautiful!

Morning Rhizo.

Yep, definitely a steal, they were on sale for 2 for $1 :) I got a colored one and a green one. I think I'll put them in the same pot and then take a picture :) Gonna have to Freecycle some spiders to make some room...

That's cool, and sounds like a good plan, A1pha. I hope you get more takers on your free spiders. I felt sorta bad killing a whole tub of it recently... but not really. Just cuz I dug it "all up," doesn't mean it's gone - yet.

Toni, glad you like the pic! The white shrub is Gardenia. I think I've mentioned it and showed you a pic of it before. Definitely hardy, evergreen, wish I could send you a sniff although there's no blooms at the moment. They don't last long.

The red ones are Cannas, both the closed one I think you are calling a Bromeliad, and the open one, both are the same patch of Cannas. Without any of its' leaves showing, they do look mysterious.

A whole tub? Was that the one that got overwatered then died? My green mama is making a thousand more babies as we speak so I won't be disappointed at sharing a few of the ones I've already rooted :) So I planted them both in a former hanging basket cause it was the only pot that fit them. They are labeled as Dracaena Spike, then below it says Cordyline indivisa. I think I vaguely remember another post where it said Cordy's were different from Dracaenas though? Very vague recollection... But anyway, here they are :)

Those look nice. Should be little trees before you know it!

The tub of spider plant I had was from digging it up at my Mom's house. She put it in the ground and there was a patch of it that was poised to take over her entire front yard. It took hours to dig it up.

Morning,

A1...Is Freecycle the site where people list items for free?

Purple. Think I recall you had a hardy Gardenia. Too many posts to remember... :)

Well, it's beautiful. Do you know 'denias type/zone?

RE: plants..The plant to the right looks like Canna, 'though I didn't know until you told me,' lol, but plant to the left 'flower' looks exactly like, the flat flower Tillandsia. My mistake.

Purp, Cannas are sold here, but always the same type. I'ven never bought a Canna, don't know they're care, but they're adorable. I've seen Cannas w/variegated leaves online..Soooo pretty.

A1..Will you keep your Spikes as annuals or bring indoors come autumn? They make good house plants, too..Toni

Yes Freecycle is where you can post offers and wanteds for free things. I love it!

I already have them indoors, but I may have jumped the gun a bit, these leaves are really long and won't fit on top of my desk for much longer. If I take them down my cats will likely destroy them. We'll see how fast it grows...

I became entruiged by this con. Spike is usuallynot marginata but some other species. I think purples spike is a mar. though hI

The tag says it is dracaena spike, cordyline indivisa

According to Wiki, (Cordyline indivisa article.)

"C. indivisa may be confused with another cabbage tree, Cordyline australis. In particular the popular annual house or ornamental plant, sold under the common name "Spikes" or "Dracaena Spikes", which is an immature form of C. australis, is incorrectly sold as Cordyline indivisa or Dracaena indivisa."

So it is likely actually a Cordyline australis? Is that a Dracaena at all? Thanks for the link!

From the one pic, the one closest to the camera looks like Cordyline. The one behind it could be either but I'm leaning toward Cordyline. Once some trunk develops, it should be easier to tell, if you are still in question at that time. Maybe a leaf pic will help at this point, one showing the top surface. In the existing pic, I can't tell which leaves or forward, which backward.

Cordyline and Dracaena are different genuses, but have some similar looking plants.

You mean that my 5 foot dracaena that i saved from an annual planting is a cordyline and not a draecana

Oh my, forward and backward, top of leaf! I didn't even think of that when I potted them. Since they are straight up it didn't cross my mind. How do I tell the difference? Also, these plants are shaped more like a fan than a fountain, does that help?

Teen, can't say w/o a pic.

A1pha, sorry if I was confusing, interchanging terms. The top of the leaf is the same thing as the front. The back is the same as the bottom. Each leaf should be leaning away from the center of the plant, and seeing the top of a leaf (from each plant) more clearly could help decide which plant each one is. Does that make more sense?

Morning,

A1. Thanks. In the late 90's/early 2000's I joined Freecycle, (forgot the name which is the reason I asked you,) but unsubscribed after getting as many as 25 emails per day. lol.

I haven't grown Spikes for a while, but tags read Cordyline, Dracaena sp.

I can't recall green spike name, but purple was called Red Star.

In zones 8 and up, Spikes are grown as perennials, but in zones 7 and under they're grown as annuals or house plants. 'during winter.'

Here's an old photo of my green and red/purple Spikes.

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One site coins purple spike as Cordyline baurei, 'Red Star.'
Description...A Dracaena (Cordyline baurei)....

I do not recall C. (baurei) on Spike tags.

Dave's Garden calls purple spike, C. australis, and Dracaena Spike 'Purple Tower.'

PT doesn't sound familiar either. lol.

Another site...about.com

Cordyline are common decorative plants that appear under a few names in garden centers. In fact, the whole thing can get rather confusing. The most popular indoor cordyline is the C. terminalis, which is often sold as C. fruticosa or Dracaena terminalis. Likewise, these plants are often referred to as "Ti plants" or "Hawaiian Ti trees." However, Dracaena fragrans, with its bright green leaves, are also sold as Ti plants, and in fact, cordyline and dracaena are both members of the agave family. The best way to tell the difference is look at the roots: cordyline roots are white, and dracaena roots are yellow or orange.

There are 15 species of cordyline, but only a few are commonly seen in cultivation: â¢C. australis. Resembles yucca plant, with narrow, long and grayish to dark leaves.
â¢C. terminalis. A gaudy, show plant with nearly infinite varieties. Leaves are wide (3") and thin and come in green, red, black, yellow, orange and mixed colors. Varieties include C. terminalis 'tricolor', C. terminalis 'Rededge', C. terminalis 'Firebrand' and C. terminalis 'Ti'

C. terminalis sounds right. Toni

Tips for growing cordyline plants indoors, including watering and humidity ... and an easy explanation to sort of cordyline and the (closely related dracaena)