Hawaiian Ti Plant

One plant used widely in floats at this year’s Rose Parade (2003) was the Hawaiian Ti plant. It had many uses in the parade floats and makes a beautiful houseplant too. 

One of my favorite New Year activities is watching the Rose Parade. This year’s parade was spectacular as usual. I watched it on Home and Garden TV, because they gave excellent plant descriptions. At one point, the hosts highlighted the Hawaiian Ti plant – Cordyline terminalis. This plant is also called good-luck plant and dracaena palm, although it is technically not a dracaena. 

Cordyline was used on many floats this year, but I especially liked its use on the Automobile Club of Southern California’s “A Big Adventure,” starring Stuart Little. For those who haven’t seen the Stuart Little 2 movie, in it the little mouse flies an airplane through New York City. On the float Stuart Little's plane was decorated in yellow strawflower and carnation petals with accents of red Ti leaves. Stuart’s jacket was made of maroon Ti leaves. 

The Ti plant is one that brings back visions of visits to my Grandma’s house. Grandma Simmons always had two Hawaiian Ti plants in big plastic, white urns in the living room. Looking back they were actually very scrawny plants, growing in a very dark location, but my Grandma was proud of those plants. Certainly her enthusiasm helped develop my love of plants. 

The Ti is a small palm-like tree with irregularly striped leaves. With the right cultivar grown in the right light conditions, the leaves are quite colorful. The ‘Kiwi’ cultivar has bright creamy-green striped foliage with red edges. ‘Red Sister’ has rich plum and deep burgundy leaves. 

As a houseplant, it can grow 3 to 6 feet tall, but usually is much smaller. This is a very tolerant plant, withstanding many household abuses such as low light, improper water, and fluctuating temperatures. For optimum growth, this plant prefers moderate light of partial shade or diffused light; warm temperatures of 70-80 degrees; and partially dry soil. It can tolerate 50 degrees for short periods. 

If you’d like a plant with bright leaf color, try a Hawaiian Ti. Maybe you could even use a few leaves on a float at a parade this summer!

Originally Published in Canton Ledger Column on 1-11-2003