Full Sun Cordylines for Tropical Gardens

If you’re looking to add a little colour to your tropical garden, cordyline fruticosa cultivars are a great place to start. They come in a huge range of sizes and shapes — from large growing varieties like Negra and Pele’s Smoke, to small, compact minis like Amanda’s Blush and Firecracker. We carry one of the largest ranges of cordyline fruticosa varieties for sale online in Australia, and in this article we’re focusing specifically on cordylines that thrive in full sun.

Top Cordyline Picks for Full Sun

Peter Buck — one of the best full-sun landscaping cordylines available. Hugely popular in Hawaii, and gaining ground with professional landscapers here in Australia, particularly in South-East Queensland. Great growth habit, stunning left as a single head or cut back to multi-head. Large, downturned, slightly undulating leaves, ranging from bright pinky-bronze to deeper pink — best colour comes from full sun, and it holds year-round. You’ll spot it used to great effect in traffic island plantings around the Mackay area. Pairs well with other pink-toned cordylines like Bronze Glow or Anja, and narrower-leaved varieties like Roostertail or Dorothy.
Lilinoe — a very tough full-sun stunner and another popular Hawaiian landscaping cordyline. Upright, deep pink-red leaves that appear to glow in sunlight. Similar to, but a superior cultivar of, Firebrand — closely related to Auntie Lou, a Ti widely used in Hawaiian funerary gardens. Holds colour year-round and looks great against deep green giant mondo grasses, other pink-toned cordylines, or darker varieties like Kealakai. It might not sound the most exciting on paper, but it’s genuinely one of the best landscaping cordylines available — strongly recommended.
Roostertail — an older Australian variety coming back into style, at its best grown into a multi-headed bush. A very tough landscaping cordyline with a kaleidoscope of colourful, cascading, narrow leaves that hold colour year-round. Use it sparingly for a subtle accent, or mass plant for a bolder effect. Its toughness makes it one of the most suitable cordylines for cooler-climate tropical-style gardens.
Maize — a larger growing cordyline, almost like an oversized Roostertail. Large, narrow leaves with pink tones that colour up best in tough full-sun conditions. Makes a great screening plant for narrower spaces, eventually reaching around 3 metres. Originally from Tahiti, and increasingly popular in Australia.
Tahitian Silk — another Tahitian beauty, with large, drooping, variegated leaves that are slightly undulating. A strong, fast grower that makes an attractive specimen plant.

A few other large-growing cordylines that take full sun well: Negra, Pink Diamond, Pele’s Smoke and Kilauea. As these varieties mature, their leaves spiral around the stem — striking to look at, and useful for creating a microclimate for more tender plants nearby. Negra in particular is widely used in landscaping for its large, almost black leaves.

We offer bulk buys on many of these full-sun landscaping cordylines for anyone planting large areas or mass planting — check our [bulk buy specials] for current availability.

Getting the Best Colour and Growth

A cordyline grown in optimal conditions — well-drained, moist soil rich in organic matter, fertilised and watered regularly, in high humidity and a warm climate — will always look considerably better than a neglected one. If you’re gardening in a less-than-tropical climate, creating a sheltered microclimate will help keep your cordylines looking lush and vibrant. As a general rule, in tougher environments cordylines will do better in part shade than they will struggling in full sun.