ardesia said:Yes, it seems there are a lot of St. Helena's, ours is named for Santa Elena, the first colonial capital of Spanish Florida. It was founded in 1566 in what is now South Carolina.

He he I thought you were 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) east of Rio de Janeiro and 1,950 kilometres (1,210 mi) west of the Cunene River, which marks the border between Namibia and Angola in southwestern Africa. The most remote island in the world.....

Whew your's is much more amenable for mail order plants, also just as lovely thanks for the Info. I must have driven right past your gangplank when I drove along the coast (as far as it's possible) from New York to Key West! Had I known I would've dropped off some stroopwafels from Amsterdam where I was based at the time.

ScotTi said:

Fanny, The first name that popped in my mind when I saw your photo was 'Electra'.

Brilliant because I like that form in a smallish plant. Interesting because I think these have been produced using tissue culture as they're very small plants without any attached sign of cuttings. They are all quite uniform except one doesn't have that red overlay affect, its more or less stripes in green shades edged with whitish, like a monochrome facsimile. You can get spontaneous sports in tissue culture especially if the culture has been used for a long time. I know this very well with some of the commercial orchid hybrids for the cut flower industry however usually it's some disfigurement in flower shape which is not desirable. So its better for growers to get plants from a new culture off the original the first or second clone if at all possible.

I was told that 'Electra' was a tissue culture sport of 'Miss Andrea'.


'Princess Leisha' is also said to be a tissue culture sport of 'Miss Andrea".

Also of note...
'Princess Kayla' (looks like 'Princess Leisha' but leaf is smaller) and 'Pink Champion' (looks like 'Electra') also said to be TC Sports o 'Miss Andrea'.

I love stroopwafels! The highway is about 45 minutes west of here, you were close.

ScotTi said:I was told that 'Electra' was a tissue culture sport of 'Miss Andrea'.

'Princess Leisha' is also said to be a tissue culture sport of 'Miss Andrea".

'Princess Kayla' (looks like 'Princess Leisha' but leaf is smaller) and 'Pink Champion' (looks like 'Electra') also said to be TC Sports o 'Miss Andrea'.

Aaaah zo, I could have an interesting sport. We shall see. They 're taking a battering in full incredibly hot humid sun without a blink, rather tough they are considering they're such little plants tissue cultured in a test tube in the Netherlands.

I also have a pot full of tissued cultured "kiwi", and one is definitely showing wider strips of a pinkish red colour.

ardesia said:I love stroopwafels! The highway is about 45 minutes west of here, you were close.

Might have been ever closer because at the time I was racing [blush] and the car involved, a Dodge classic suddenly took an off ramp joining another highway. It was dark so off I went too only to get hopelessly lost in what was a maize of bridges and water ........In my defence I was used to driving in places like Germany, in Europe in general so got a bit bored so when suddenly finding myself on part of a ring road where everyone was more or less speeding off I went. Very soon I had a bunch of cars doing the same. Of course I never do such things at home, slap hands. You may have had to feed me stroopwafels through a drip.

Ah, bridges and water, that's us, you were nearby.

Is there an all yellow Ti? I often pass a home with 3 plants that look like Ti's but the lemon yellow color has me baffled. I wondered if perhaps they are Lemon Lime Dracenas but they are fairly large and in full sun. I'll have to get DH come along and to drive slowly so I can take a photo as we pass the house.

ardesia said:Is there an all yellow Ti?

Oh how I wish. I would love a chartreuse Ti that grew like weeds. It's the reason I bought Kiwi and a few others in Bangkok, that had the potential to be that interesting yellow green, but so far they just don't make the mark. Think probably a little more gamma ray treatment and it might happen one of these days. Mind you my Kiwi are just 20cm tall at the moment. then theres morning sun....

Cordylines wained a bit in fashion, they seem to come and go, but suddenly they are becoming more popular again as garden plants. In Thailand Im finding only very special ones, they don't have the old stalwarts anymore. I bought one that Im not absolutely sure what to do with its so strange. Long thin thin recurved pitch black leaves, so thin it doesn't make much of a show.

Its interesting you should ask anyway because only yesterday I was searching for the chartreuse version of Dracaena warneckii called "Limelight". It doesn't look to be so stable in all light conditions like Epipremnum aureum is. I've never seen it here only on the net and in some conditions it looks very nice. Maybe thats what you saw. Think "Lemon Lime" is one of the C. fruticosas that I've seen listed on some sights.

You are probably right on the names, I had just misremembered it. I have seen the yellow/green Dracaena at the big box stores but these plants are so much larger and a much lighter yellow. I have GOT to get a photo.

I have a few of the yellow/green C. fruticosa in the collection. My favorite is 'Golden Girl' from Hawaii. I always think of a Dracaena when I look at this one.

That's a pretty one. The ones I see are solid yellow, at least it looks that way from the road.

ScotTi said: My favorite is 'Golden Girl' from Hawaii.[/lightbox]

That Golden Girl is a must have! Does it stay so lovely and bright all year? It has something of my Temple about that Dracaena look. That Thai Temple seems to change with every new leaf and is more an more gorgeous especially the ruby red bits getting broader and brighter with the lime green centre stripe also brighter, it also has very clearly striped leaf stalks like Golden Girls except its very clear green and red stripes, sort of like a red Golden Girl.

I bought another test tube baby today. It's too much of a lengthy process to take pictures so I borrowed a growers off the net. It's sold, marketed and exported from the Netherlands as "Rumba". Don't see many pictures of it beyond the company who grows them. Anyone have it, dying to know if it looks like the producers says it does as an adult. I would be pretty amazed if it turns into this from that (see pictures). At moment it looks like this rather than that.

I would love to get "Bellula" it looks remarkable in photo's! That combo red and green.........and shape of leaf and upright form.

Here is "Bellula" courtesy of Arcadia Turf and Nursery in Australia, they do have the most lovely selection of Cordyline fruticosa. Anyone have it? It looks to be an Australian one. They only do mail order within Brisbane Australia....now who do I know in Brisbane that could send them on Fedex, hmmmmmm. I have a brother and a sister and their young fams in Australia but wrong territory [sigh]....Madonna also looks lovely.

Interesting they have two listings for "Bellula" both with different product codes, each a different form, to my eye at least.

ardesia said:You are probably right on the names, I had just misremembered it. I have seen the yellow/green Dracaena at the big box stores but these plants are so much larger and a much lighter yellow. I have GOT to get a photo.

Yes please....erm I know what photos are like. I would be interested in seeing that.

Anyone know how easily Vanuatu is propagated? I have a very nice tallish (1.5 m) thick one with a nice, wide, big head that I want to chop up so I can at last plant out a group in the garden as a feature. Is it as easy as the others? Just I only have the one and wasn't sure. It's been fast growing I must say and I like the thick dead straight stem. One of my favourites, not just for the colour but the shape of the whole thing, very neat and architectural, like a giant black rose. A group of three in various heights would look lovely.

I did purchase another Vanuatu in Bangkok last week but it's tiny, very cute. I will get some photos up as I bought some very nice cordylines including a beautiful silvery "Pink Diamond" (least thats what I think it is) with wide white creamy edges and shocking pink petiole,, plus "black magic", "strawberries on fire" (the only ones with known names, from Australia apparently) also what I assume is known as "earthquake", except its not so horribly contorted as the ones I've seen pictured but rather attractively curly instead (like red sea weed) which I like. Some Thai varieties/cultivars new to science, one which looks very much like what I imagine "lemon and lime" to be except it has a pinky white border and whitish petiole rounder spoon leaves.....What I love about the Thais is that they always also manage to source interesting plants from around the world. When I fall for something on the net inevitably it makes an appearance there. Also got a very nice large upright leaved one in black and red streaks from Singapore which I've never seen before, Im told it's used for cut foliage there, also a beautiful very long narrow curly edged upright leaf one, reddish maroon with a bright reddish petiole, looks to be a large grower, bit like a large "dragons breath". I go for the shape as the variety in form is quite fantastic in cordylines, my wish list is certainly extensive.

I've noticed cordylines on some Hawaii growers have odd sort of bumpy crinkled leaves. I say odd because at first I thought it was the varieties, intended especially the larger leaved varieties. However when I saw "Vanuatu" with the same "oddness" I started wondering as mine doesn't have that, its leaves look like perfectly arranged rose petals, not lumpy and bumpy. Anyone know what causes that? Im thinking some kind of trace element overdose in the soil....not sure, or could it be drought, didn't think possible on Hawaii.......

This 3 yr old is the offspring from 'Rooster Tail'

That Rooster Tail offspring is interesting in a nice subtle way.

Im finding various countries marketing of plants all a bit confusing. Between America, Australia, Hawaii, The Netherlands Japan and Thailand things are a bit topsy. Many of the same cultivars have different names, though I must give it to the Thais they are always trying to remember the names they were imported as, even though this is quite difficult, as it depends on where exactly they imported them from, so they also get a bit confused when they see it as something else.

Makes it interesting I suppose.

I bought a white and green one today called "New Conga" however I see it's sold elsewhere just as "Conga". On the growers web page they have a "Conga" but not a "New Conga", but in the store with the same growers label it's called "New Conga" each picture they look different anyway no matter what they're called. It also looks very much like some of the other green and whitish ones in other countries except the leaves are maybe much larger than most and the white is broader on the margins and clearly splashed across the lower part of the leaf in like an ink spill affect, at least thats what mine looks like. So Im not entirely sure what I have. Anyway Im hoping it's a new cultivar, an improved "Conga". I sent off an email asking.

I see this site is "The National Gardening Society" I didn't even think about it before. It's not clear, who are the nationals involved? I did get a warm welcome but Im not sure now if I shouldn't be from Tallahassee or something?! This is the Tropical section so that does open it up a bit beyond the USA borders I suppose.....

I believe it is simply that the NGA has been around for many decades, well before the internet and easy international communication. However, gardeners from all over the world participate and add to the knowledge base which is what makes the site so interesting.

Fanny said:That Rooster Tail offspring is interesting in a nice subtle way.

Im finding various countries marketing of plants all a bit confusing. Between America, Australia, Hawaii, The Netherlands Japan and Thailand things are a bit topsy. Many of the same cultivars have different names, though I must give it to the Thais they are always trying to remember the names they were imported as, even though this is quite difficult, as it depends on where exactly they imported them from, so they also get a bit confused when they see it as something else.

Makes it interesting I suppose.

I bought a white and green one today called "New Conga" however I see it's sold elsewhere just as "Conga". On the growers web page they have a "Conga" but not a "New Conga", but in the store with the same growers label it's called "New Conga" each picture they look different anyway no matter what they're called. It also looks very much like some of the other green and whitish ones in other countries except the leaves are maybe much larger than most and the white is broader on the margins and clearly splashed across the lower part of the leaf in like an ink spill affect, at least thats what mine looks like. So Im not entirely sure what I have. Anyway Im hoping it's a new cultivar, an improved "Conga". I sent off an email asking.

I see this site is "The National Gardening Society" I didn't even think about it before. It's not clear, who are the nationals involved? I did get a warm welcome but Im not sure now if I shouldn't be from Tallahassee or something?! This is the Tropical section so that does open it up a bit beyond the USA borders I suppose.....

International Gardening Association would be a more descriptive name than National Gardening Assciation (NGA). People from all over the world do participate, and international perspectives enrich the content of NGA. For example, take a look at the Orchids, Roses and Daylilies forums and the plant database. I'm sure this is true for other forums, but these are the ones I know. Your perspective and contributions are VERY important!