Hi folks. Noobie here in need of some help.

It's the only plant in rented house garden I really like, and it's sick.
Is there anything I can do to save the plant at the top of the diagonal trunk ?

pic of it a year ago:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47...g?t=1295196542

pic of it today:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47...g?t=1295198672

The foliage on the third (right hand) branch died off nearly a year ago and now squeezing that branch between fingers, it's as soft as rotten fruit. The other two branches feel squidgy too.
There's a baby at the base of the trunk. Was about 4foot tall a year ago, now nearer 6foot. I don't know if removing that will give more life to the top or kill it completely.

Please advise.

Bit more info.

It's always dropped brown leaves. I believe that's healthy and normal.

It's a west facing garden in Yorkshire.

The second/middle branch did flower during the summer and the stem was still in place until today.

Just this week, the middle 'head' seems to have fallen sideways and started dropping green leaves. Dozens of them.

"Spaniel" wrote in message
...

Hi folks. Noobie here in need of some help.

It's the only plant in rented house garden I really like, and it's
sick.
Is there anything I can do to save the plant at the top of the diagonal
trunk ?

pic of it a year ago:
http://tinyurl.com/4f65kkq

pic of it today:
http://tinyurl.com/46d562s

The foliage on the third (right hand) branch died off nearly a year ago
and now squeezing that branch between fingers, it's as soft as rotten
fruit. The other two branches feel squidgy too.
There's a baby at the base of the trunk. Was about 4foot tall a year
ago, now nearer 6foot. I don't know if removing that will give more
life to the top or kill it completely.

Please advise.

You can air layer it as in this link
http://www.instructables.com/id/Prop...-Air-Layering/ and it
should be quite successful.

"Chris Hogg" wrote ...

Janet wrote:

Spaniel says...

Hi folks. Noobie here in need of some help.

It's the only plant in rented house garden I really like, and it's
sick.
Is there anything I can do to save the plant at the top of the diagonal
trunk ?

pic of it a year ago:
http://tinyurl.com/4f65kkq

pic of it today:
http://tinyurl.com/46d562s

The foliage on the third (right hand) branch died off nearly a year ago
and now squeezing that branch between fingers, it's as soft as rotten
fruit. The other two branches feel squidgy too.
There's a baby at the base of the trunk. Was about 4foot tall a year
ago, now nearer 6foot. I don't know if removing that will give more
life to the top or kill it completely.

I don't think it is a yucca, the size habit and the seedhead in pic 2,
look more like cordyline australis. The new fast young shoot at the base
is also, typical behaviour of cordyline after an injury.
Dead trunks can be cut down low and new growth will sprout from them.

I agree, it's a cordyline (aka cabbage palm or Torbay palm, but not
actually a palm). The cold weather of the last two winters has damaged
or killed many cordylines, even down here in Cornwall. They often
shoot again from the base, as yours has done. It sounds like the main
trunk has gone on yours, in which case the leaves at the top will all
eventually drop off leaving a bare and ugly stem. If it were mine, I'd
take it off near the base, leaving the youngster to grow up in its
place.

Cordyline australis or New Zealand cabbage palm. Quite agree with Chris ,
one of mine is showing signs of frost damage but one isn't and they are a
lot bigger than the one in the photos. Very unusual for the roots to be
killed as they go down to their home country so even if the trunk is killed
to ground level it will resprout from there, or below, and grow up again
provided these hard winters abate.
If all the top dies then cut the trunk back to about 4ft above ground and
see if it resprouts from there.
One of mine was cut to 3ft below ground level for the building of a wall,
two years later I noticed a sprout coming up and it is now over 20ft tall,
tough plants.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK