i am getting rid of cordylines, nuisance plants

goat2

i have had cordylines all along, fine big tall healthy ones, biggest problem about them is, they drop their big strappy leaves all the time, i am sick and tired of picking up these, also they are a nuisance with shading everything, i did love them but not anymore, sick of my lawnmower choking everytime i mow the lawn, have to turn lawnmower on its side to cut off the ropelike strappy leaves from the blades shaft, so out they go.
have anyone had this problem

magicbastarder

i think the cold winters dealt with the issue for most people...

goat2

magicbastarder wrote: »

i think the cold winters dealt with the issue for most people...

they are a beautiful attractive looking plant, but a nightmare for the lawnmower, so i will be glad not to have to spend time under lawnmower anymore trying to unravel the leaves it sheds

joseph brand

goat2 wrote: »

they are a beautiful attractive looking plant, but a nightmare for the lawnmower, so i will be glad not to have to spend time under lawnmower anymore trying to unravel the leaves it sheds

Would you not just pick up anything from the lawn, (pegs, sticks, cordyline leaves, rocks) before you mow?

Some of us don't have a choice whether to keep or get rid of our cordylines. As 'magicbastarder' said, that last extreme winter we had killed most of em, big or small.

I lost my only 2, but 1 has since started to grow back, it's almost a foot tall.

geordief

that's what I do when I can bother.I bring the rake -it is just a bit of a mental hassle:no trouble really.
I mean ,if we were being perfectionist they should have been tidied up regardless of the mowing
If I forget then I just unclog the mower.
How do you plan to remove the cordyline ? Will you dig out the roots?
I have one to remove and I am not looking forward to it but maybe the roots will be really soft.

annieoburns

They have massive tap roots that just go down and down. I dug out two when I moved to present house as hated them. I gave up about two feet down ... never resprouted. I think this is how they withstand hurricane force winds etc.

goat2

geordief wrote: »

that's what I do when I can bother.I bring the rake -it is just a bit of a mental hassle:no trouble really.
I mean ,if we were being perfectionist they should have been tidied up regardless of the mowing
If I forget then I just unclog the mower.
How do you plan to remove the cordyline ? Will you dig out the roots?
I have one to remove and I am not looking forward to it but maybe the roots will be really soft.

i have cut some back to a foot above ground for now, some have sprouted, at least they will not be losing leaves for a year or two, others i have cut six foot and above from ground level, and some i have not cut yet, i have about twelve in all, i am too lazy to go digging right now, so with twelve cordylines each having about five to ten branches out with a few clusters of these strappy leaves at the end of them, you can see that i had an auful lot of leaves per day, never mind once a week to collect,

geordief

annieoburns wrote: »

They have massive tap roots that just go down and down. I dug out two when I moved to present house as hated them. I gave up about two feet down ... never resprouted. I think this is how they withstand hurricane force winds etc.

oh dear. Will I have to get a rope to get it to topple?
Is it feasible ,do you think , to cut it through with an axe around or just below ground level?
Presumably it will be nice and soft but maybe it will need to be tensioned with a rope to make it lean and topple in the desired direction (I don't have a chainsaw to hand and I would prefer to not leave anything sticking up if possible).

Leo Demidov

Whats the trunk of the tree like for domestic burning, is it too wet/dry? Have a few to cut down and i'm wondering if its worth saving the wood for firing or will it break down in sh1te once dry?

Fiskar

Leaves are excellent starter fuel for stoves when dried out, try folding and tying 5 together with a 6th leaf, they will beat the socks off any zip fire lighter. I have 3 bags full (rocket fuel for stoves) for this winter

goat2

Fiskar wrote: »

Leaves are excellent starter fuel for stoves when dried out, try folding and tying 5 together with a 6th leaf, they will beat the socks off any zip fire lighter. I have 3 bags full (rocket fuel for stoves) for this winter

thanks for that tip, i never thought of that, i will do that with all these leaves still lying around

Leo Demidov

goat2 wrote: »

thanks for that tip, i never thought of that, i will do that with all these leaves still lying around

When life gives you lemons eh!

Yi Harr

geordief wrote: »

oh dear. Will I have to get a rope to get it to topple?
Is it feasible ,do you think , to cut it through with an axe around or just below ground level?
Presumably it will be nice and soft but maybe it will need to be tensioned with a rope to make it lean and topple in the desired direction (I don't have a chainsaw to hand and I would prefer to not leave anything sticking up if possible).

The stems (while softer than trees) tend to be quite hard and fibrous. If dead/dry they can become even harder to cut through. That said a good bushman should do the job without a problem.

If you can, tension the stem, if not, just cut the stem slowly in order to get it to lean.

Leave the stem cut at about shoulder/chest height.
Dig a trench around the cordyline (as deep as possible, try to undercut the plant).
Using the remaining stem and your body weight you can lever/rock the root ball out of the ground.

Also, not being preachy, but it's a good practice to have a quick walk/scan of the area you're going to mow before you mow it. There are quite a few stories out there of people who've lost eye's etc from running a mower over hidden stones. God knows I've run over my fair share of tennis and golf balls.

Redwood77

The reason they might be dropping their leaves excessively, aside from the weather over the past two years is that Cordylines readily suffer from Potassium deficiency.
A top dress of a high Potassium(K) fertilizer once a year will leave these plants in much better shape and leaves will be retained for longer.
Alternatively, pull the browned leaves off once a year. They come away with a slight tug. 15 mins of work once a year rather than 10 mins of annoyance once a week with the lawnmower.