Cordyline ‘Jurred’ (Festival Burgundy)

Breeding background of Cordyline ‘Jurred’ (Festival Burgundy)

Felix and Mark Jury and their collaborators selected ‘Jurred’ in Taranaki, New Zealand. It came from a deliberate cross involving a plant believed to combine Cordyline banksii with Cordyline australis ‘Purple Tower’, with Cordyline pumilio used as the other parent. They chose the seedling for its deep burgundy leaves, the dense clump it formed and its strongly scented flowers. Plants divided from it kept the same main traits, and the cultivar was later introduced as Festival Burgundy.

Growing Cordyline ‘Jurred’ (Festival Burgundy)

• Light: A very bright position suits ‘Jurred’. Once it is used to the light, several hours of direct sun help keep the clump dense and the burgundy colour deep.
• Water: Check the surface and the weight of the pot. When the top of the mix is dry and the pot feels lighter, water thoroughly and let the excess drain away.
• Potting mix: Choose a loose mix that drains quickly while holding some moisture. Bark or fibre can retain water, with pumice or grit keeping the mix open.
• Temperature: Cool to mild conditions suit this hybrid, and normal room temperatures are also comfortable. Protect a potted plant from prolonged freezing.
• Humidity: Normal household humidity is usually enough. Leave space around the long leaves for air to move through the clump.
• Feeding: A modest amount of complete fertiliser is sufficient while new leaves and roots are developing. Ease back when growth slows.
• Repotting: The shoots from the base hold the plant upright. Move it to the next pot size when roots crowd the container, watering becomes uneven or the clump loses stability.
• Propagation: Divide rooted shoots from an established clump to make another plant with the same characteristics.

Common problems with Cordyline ‘Jurred’ (Festival Burgundy)

• New leaves become greener and the clump opens up: Weak light is the usual cause. Shift it toward stronger light over several days and look for darker new leaves that stay closer together.
• Leaf tips turn dry and crisp: Repeated drying or fertiliser salts are common triggers. Make watering steadier and run plenty of plain water through the pot if salts may have accumulated.
• The centre of a crown browns after cold, wet weather: The youngest leaves in the centre may be damaged. Keep the crown dry, remove soft decaying material with a clean, disinfected tool and keep any firm stems, which can produce new shoots below the injury.
• Fine pale specks and wispy webbing appear: Spider mites are likely. Move the plant away from nearby plants and rinse the leaves thoroughly. Persistent mites can be treated with a product labelled for spider mites on ornamental plants, repeating it as directed on the label.
• A stem or root becomes dark and soft: Rot is present. Remove all soft tissue with a clean, disinfected tool until you reach firm healthy tissue, then replant the healthy part in fresh, well-draining mix and give the mix more time to dry before watering again.

Cordyline ‘Jurred’ (Festival Burgundy) is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• It contains saponins that can irritate the mouth and digestive tract.
• Chewing may cause drooling, vomiting, stomach pain, reduced appetite or weakness. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop.

What does Cordyline mean, and who first published it?

Cordyline comes from Greek kordyle, meaning club, referring to its thickened underground stems.

Robert Brown established the genus Cordyline in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, page 280; Philibert Commerson had proposed the name.