Houseplant · Asparagaceae
Ti Plant
Cordyline fruticosa
Keep the light bright but gentle and the water clean, and this forgiving good luck plant thanks you with leaves of pink, red, and burgundy.
Bright indirect
50–95°F · 10–35°C
USDA 10–12
3–15 ft · 0.9–4.6 m
Overview
If a colorful houseplant sounds intimidating, the ti plant is a kind place to start. It is a tender evergreen loved for strappy leaves in pink, red, purple, and green, and it holds that color all year long. The plant traces back to the tropical Pacific and Southeast Asia, where people have long treasured it as a good luck plant, so you are growing a little piece of that history on your windowsill.
The one thing worth understanding is that its color depends on light, and that is easy to get right. Set it where the light is bright but indirect and the pinks and reds stay deep and lovely. If the leaves start drifting back toward plain green, do not worry, because that is simply the plant asking for a brighter window, and moving it usually brings the color back.
In return the ti plant asks for a little attention to two things: water quality and humidity. The fluoride in ordinary tap water can brown its leaf tips, but distilled water or rainwater solves that easily, and a bit of extra moisture in the air keeps it happy. Get those small details right and you will find it an easygoing, long-lived companion that mistakes rarely ruin.
Care
The short version: give it bright indirect light, humid air, and clean water without fluoride. Keep the soil evenly moist while it is growing, water less in winter, and offer a little food a few times a year so the leaf color stays rich. None of it is hard, and the plant is patient with you.
Light
Aim for bright indirect light and the leaf color stays deep and pretty. The plant will cope in partial or even full shade, but the pinks and reds fade toward green when the light is low. Just keep it clear of harsh afternoon sun, which can scorch those lovely leaves.
Water
From spring through fall, keep the soil evenly moist, letting just the top dry a little between drinks, then ease back through the winter months. Water quality matters most here: fluoride and salts in tap water are what brown the leaf tips, so reach for distilled water or rainwater and the plant will thank you.
Soil
Pot it in a well drained, peaty mix, either a fertile peaty loam or a peat based potting soil. It likes things slightly acidic to neutral, around a pH of 5.5 to 7.0, and free draining soil keeps the roots from sitting soggy.
Temperature
Warmth keeps this plant content, and it does best between 50°F to 95°F (10°C to 35°C). It has no real tolerance for the cold, so shield it from chilly drafts and cold winter windows.
Humidity
The ti plant loves high humidity, more than the average room provides on its own. A small humidifier or a pebble tray under the pot goes a long way, since dry air is one of the main reasons those leaf tips turn brown.
Feeding
Offer a balanced houseplant fertilizer through the spring to fall growing season. Just a few feedings spread across the year are plenty, and they help the plant keep that rich leaf color you love.
Pruning
If a cane grows tall and leggy, cut it back to coax fuller, bushier growth lower down. You can also gently remove tired or damaged lower leaves, which the plant lets go of on its own as it ages.
Repotting
Plan to repot every 2 to 3 years, or a little sooner if it becomes rootbound, ideally in spring. Watch for roots circling or poking out the drainage holes, water rushing straight through, and growth that seems to stall.
Size & spacing
Given time, a ti plant can climb to 3 to 15 feet (90 cm to 4.6 m) tall and spread 3 to 8 feet (90 to 240 cm) wide, though indoors in a pot it stays much more modest. Leave it a little room to fan out its arching leaves.
Troubleshooting
Ti plant troubles almost always show up in the leaves first, and that is good news, because it means you can spot them early. Whether the tips brown, the color fades, or a pest wanders in, the fixes below are gentle and usually work. Find the picture that matches yours and take one small step at a time.
Sticky film, tiny speckles, or insects on the leaves
A sticky film and fine speckling usually mean sap sucking pests have moved in, such as aphids, scale, mealybugs, or spider mites. Turn the leaves over and look for scale bumps, cottony mealybugs, fine webbing, or little clusters of aphids. Wipe or rinse the foliage, treat it with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and give the plant better airflow to keep them from returning.
Fix:
- Wipe down or rinse foliage
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil
- Improve air circulation
Leaf tips turning brown and crisp
If the leaf tips are going brown and crisp, do not take it as a sign you have failed, because ti plants are simply touchy about fluoride and salts in tap water. Those minerals gather in the leaf tissue and burn the tips, and dry air makes it worse. Switch to distilled water or rainwater, flush the pot now and then to rinse the salts away, and lift the humidity around the plant, and the new growth will come in clean.
Fix:
- Water with distilled water or rainwater instead of fluoridated tap water
- Flush the pot periodically to leach out accumulated salts
- Raise humidity with a humidifier or pebble tray
- Trim damaged tips for appearance
Colors dulling and slipping back to green
When a ti plant sits somewhere too dim, the pink, red, and purple quietly drain away and the leaves slide back to ordinary green. The cause is almost always too little light. Move it to a brighter, indirect spot and the color usually returns, but keep it out of fierce afternoon sun, which scorches the leaves rather than feeding the color.
Fix:
- Move to a spot with bright indirect light
- Avoid harsh direct afternoon sun, which can scorch leaves
Toxicity
Here is the honest but calm caution: the ti plant is one to keep away from pets. Every part of it carries saponins, and a cat or dog that chews a leaf can vomit, sometimes with a little blood, drool, and turn dull and off its food. People are essentially safe since no part is eaten, though the cut sap can bother sensitive skin, so slip on gloves before you prune.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Moderate
A cat that nibbles the leaves may vomit, now and then with a little blood, and drool a good deal. Keep an eye out too for a flat, listless mood, a refusal to eat, and pupils that stay wide.
Dogs Moderate
Dogs respond to the same saponins with vomiting, at times streaked with blood, plus drooling, a poor appetite, and a dull, low mood.
Horses Moderate
Horses are listed among the animals at risk as well, and the green parts of the plant can leave one with an upset stomach and general discomfort.
Rabbits Caution
Saponins are just the sort of toxin that upsets small grazers, so treat the leaves as strictly off limits and keep a rabbit from nibbling them.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep are unlikely to cross paths with a potted ti plant, but the saponins in its leaves make it an unsafe browse should one get the chance.
Birds Caution
There is no clear all clear for pet birds with this plant, so it is kinder to keep a curious bird well away from the leaves than to take the risk.
People Caution
The ti plant is not a food plant, and handling the cut sap can leave some people with an itchy rash. Wear gloves when you prune it, and keep small children from chewing on the leaves.
Sap can cause contact dermatitis; wear gloves when handling or cutting the plant.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
The ti plant comes in dozens of named forms, grouped mostly by leaf color and size. The three below are the ones you are most likely to meet as houseplants.
'Baby Doll'
A small, low growing type whose little pink and green strappy leaves make it right at home as a houseplant.
'Kiwi'
Look for green leaves streaked with yellow and finished with a bright band of red and pink along the edge.
'Red Sister'
Prized mainly for its color, it sends out fresh growth in bold pink to burgundy.
How to propagate
Making more ti plants is genuinely easy and rather fun, whether you start from a cane cutting or simply divide a plant you already own.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer during active growth · Roots typically appear within a few weeks on moist media
The simplest way to start new plants is from cane sections, the very same ti logs you see for sale in shops. Take your cuttings in spring or summer while the plant is in active growth, lay them on moist gravel or other moist media, and within a few weeks roots and shoots begin to appear.
DivisionEasy
Spring, at repotting · Several weeks to establish in fresh soil
Another easy option is to divide the plant at repotting time in spring. Gently tease the rooted clumps or offsets apart, give each one its own pot, and allow several weeks for them to settle into fresh soil.
Myths
Because the ti plant is grown only for its colorful leaves, it must be safe around cats and dogs.
Lovely leaves tell you nothing about whether a plant is safe. The ASPCA lists the ti plant as toxic to cats and dogs, and the saponins inside it can trigger vomiting, sometimes with blood, along with drooling, a poor appetite, and a low, flat mood. Keep it out of reach of pets.