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Products > Cordyline 'Dark Purple'   Cordyline 'Dark Purple' - Black Cordyine      Habit and Cultural Information Category: Grass-like Family: Agavaceae (Agaves) Origin: Australia (Australasia) Synonyms: [C. fruticosa cv., C. stricta 'Dark Purple'] Exposure: Sun or Shade Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F Cordyline 'Dark Purple' (Black Cordyine) - A beautiful and usual plant that suckers at the base to produce multiple narrow stems that rise vertical up to 3 feet or more with a crown of narrow dark purple-black shiny leaves that almost look plastic. This plant looks a lot like a Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) but acts a bit more like the hardier Cordyine stricta. Plant in full coastal sun to light shade. Water occasionally to regularly. Protect from temperatures below 28 F. We first saw this plant labeled as Cordyline 'Dark Purple' at a retail nursery in December 2006 and thought it an attractive Ti Plant - nice but likely not for our climate but then noticed it was growing it in full sun and had gone unprotected through the previous winter. We purchased and put this plant in a container in front of our office but it shortly cut to the ground during the cold week of January 2007 (several nights at 25F). We thought the mater settled but the plant resprouted and has been growing well ever since. Luen Millar made the observation that he thought this plant a cultivar of Cordyline fruticosa but that it seems hardier and does not suffer from the snails that often disfigure this species. This plant may be the same as the Rancho Soledad Nursery cultivar C. fruticosa 'Black Ribbon' or 'Caruba Black' though it is quite different from the similarly named Cordyline stricta 'Soledad Purple' which we also grow. Whatever you call this plant, it is a great addition for Southern California gardens where it happily grows in full sun (coastal) to light shade and produces among the darkest leaves of any plant.  The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.     [MORE INFO]