Ti Plant

Cordyline terminalis

Hawaiian Ti Plant

A Ti plant, also called a Hawaiian Ti Plant or Hawaiian Good Luck plant, is one of the most colorful foliage plants you can purchase. The cane-like woody stems produce sword-shaped leaves 2ft.-5ft. in length and 5″ to 7″ in width. Leaf color can be maroon, purple, rose, yellow, pink, green or a mixture of these colors. When young, a Ti plant can be a small table plant, as it matures these beautiful plants become exotic looking floor specimens. There are many similarities between Hawaiian Ti plants and dracaenas. The major difference is that dracaenas are easy- care plants while Ti plants require quite a bit of extra care. A Ti lant is not a good choice for someone new to caring for houseplants.

These plants are considered poisonous and should be kept away from pets and children. Read more about common plants that are poisonous in Don’t Feed Me To Your Cat! A Guide to Poisonous Houseplants

Light

A Ti plant requires bright, indirect light, but no direct sun.

Water

Proper watering is the most difficult part of taking care of a Ti Plant. The soil needs to be moist but never soggy and should never totally dry out. If your household water contains a great deal of fluorine, chlorine, or passes through a water softener, use distilled water or allow your regular water to sit out over night before using it. Chemicals in the water damage the leaves of a Ti plant. Fluoride toxicity is especially harmful, causing ugly brown leaf tips.

Fertilizer

Feed a Ti plant monthly in the spring and summer with a liquid or slow release plant food diluted to 1/2 the recommended strength. Never use a fertilizerPlants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing. Slow growing plants in low light require very little plant food. Too much fertilizer is worse than not enough. Most plants prefer a water soluble plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Plants that are in bloom or dormant should not be fertilized. Houseplant food contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer containing these elements in equal proportion is considered a balanced plant food. Nitrogen helps in photosynthesis and encourages the growth of leaves and stems. Potassium and phosphorus also help in photosynthesis and aid in root and flower development. Most fertilizers have trace elements of other minerals that are lacking in the soil but are necessary for good plant growth. Fertilizers have a high salt content. If a plant is not producing new leaves and doesn’t absorb the fertilizer, salts build up in the soil. These salts can burn the roots, discolor the leaves, and cause new growth to be small. that contains fluoride.

Temperature

Ti plants prefer warm temperatures between 65°-85° F (18.3°-29.4° C). Be careful to keep a Ti plant away from drafts and heating vents.

Humidity

High humidity is necessary to keep the leaves looking good. Set a humidifier nearby or place your Ti plant on a wet pebble tray if the air is very dry. Be sure the plant is sitting on the pebbles and not in the water.

Pests

Ti Plants attract Fungus GnatsThis small dark skinny pest flies and jumps around plants and people driving us all crazy. Fungus Gnats develop in moist potting soil, feeding on root hairs and emerging as adults every 30 days. The best way to get rid of Fungus Gnats is to allow the soil to thoroughly dry out. This eliminates the eggs and gnats in the pot. Use yellow sticky cards to trap the Fungus Gnats that are flying around., Mealy BugsLearn how to identify and treat Mealy Bugs, a houseplant pest that leaves sticky, white, cottony residue on houseplants., spider mitesLearn how to identify and treat Spider Mites on plants. This sucking plant pest causes yellow blotchy leaves with a red haze and a gritty feel to them., scaleSoft Brown Scale is the most common scale that attacks indoor houseplants especially ficus, ivy, spider plants, ferns, aralia, and schefflera. It appears as small bumpy brown spots that appear to move. As the scale sucks on the sap of the plant it secretes a sticky substance called honeydew. The honeydew attracts black mildew. Because of the shell-like exterior, sprays are only partially effective against scale. Wipe off the lines of brown oval bumps with your finger, a cloth, or a child’s toothbrush then spray the plant with Neem Oil. Use the Green Solution to clean off the black mildew., and thripThrip are tiny winged brown insects that feed on the surfaces of plant leaves, flowers, and buds. They leave silver spots around their feeding areas and dark dots of excrement. Thrip not only weaken plant growth and distort buds and flowers, they transmit viruses from plant to plant as they fly around. The Green Solution, Neem Oil, and Yellow Sticky Cards all are effective in eliminating thrip.. A bad infestation of spider mitesLearn how to identify and treat Spider Mites on plants. This sucking plant pest causes yellow blotchy leaves with a red haze and a gritty feel to them. is often the cause of faded looking leaves. Spray frequently with a mild soapy water solution and keep the leaves dust free to help prevent both Plant PestLearn how to identify and treat the plant pest called Whitefly at https://www.houseplant411.com/glossary/whitefly-plant-pestss and plant diseases.

Diseases

Since Ti plants prefer high humidity, they often get fungal and bacterial diseases such as Leaf Spot and Erwinia Blight.

Soil

Use a loose, well-aerated fast-draining potting soil.

Pot Size

Re-pot in the spring if the roots have filled the existing container. When moving a Ti plant to a bigger pot, use one that is only one size larger than the current pot and be sure it has drainage holes in the bottom.

Pruning

Prune brown, yellow, or damaged leaves with a clean, sharp scissors that has been dipped in alcohol to prevent spreading any plant diseases.

Propagation

Propagate by cane cuttingsLearn how to propagate plants using stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, cane cuttings, and branch cuttings., stem cuttings, plant divisionLearn how to propagate plants by plant division at https://www.houseplant411.com/glossary, and, if the stalks are thick enough, air layeringLearn how to use Air Layering to propagate houseplants..

Clean Air Plant

A Ti plant cleans the air of harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene.

Poisonous Plant Info

Ti plants are poisonousPlants are a great addition to homes and offices, but it’s important to know whether your plants are dangerous to children, pets, or even adults. Some plants contain chemicals such as oxalates, solanine, glycosides, or alkaloid lycorine that may cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, swelling and redness of the mouth, throat, and lips, and trouble breathing. Touching parts of certain plants, especially the sap, may cause various skin irritations. The weight and age of the human or pet involved, and the part and amount of plant eaten determine how severe the reaction to the toxins will be. Although plants may be listed as non-toxic, they can still cause individual allergic reactions. If there is any question after a houseplant has been ingested or touched immediately call the Poison Control Center 1-800-222-1222 The Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants [Paperback]is an excellent reference to keep around if you have young children and pets., with a #2 toxicity levelThese are general guidelines that describe how poisonous certain houseplants are. It's possible for an allergic reaction to occur from contact with any houseplant, toxic or non-toxic. If there is ever a concern, call: Poison Control Center: ******1-800-222-1222****** Level #1: Houseplants with low toxicity, may be mildly irritating, especially the sap of the plant. Level#2: Houseplants with medium to severe toxicity. Eating parts of these houseplants may result in vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pains, skin irritations, and breathing difficulties. Level #3: These houseplants are very poisonous. When eaten, especially in large quantities, severe vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pains, skin irritations, and breathing difficulties can occur. Level #4: These houseplants are extremely poisonous. Eating parts of these houseplants can be be life threatening. Every plant listed in our Popular HousePlant guide has a section explaining whether or not it is poisonous and, if so, how poisonous. Amaryllis, alocasia, dieffenbachias, crotons, ivies, azaleas, lilies, and philodendrons are just a few of the highly poisonous plants we use in our homes and offices all of the time. If you don't know whether your houseplant is poisonous, go to Ask Judy on the HousePlant411.com website, send her a picture of your plant, and she'll let you know if the houseplant should be kept away from small children and pets. See colorful pictures and get more information about poisonous houseplants in Don’t Feed Me To Your Cat! A Guide to Poisonous Houseplants , and are especially dangerous to dogs and cats.

Why has the color in the leaves on my Ti plant faded? Also, why are some of the leaves turning brown?

There could be a few things causing Ti plant leaf problems. Faded colors in the leaves can be the result of low lightWhen you select “Low Light” a list of the most adaptive plants in our database appears. These plants can live in lighting conditions too low to support any other plants in our database, but will grow faster in medium and high light. Variegation (color) in the leaves is often lost in low light. A plant in low light needs less water and fertilizer than the same plant in better light. Place a low-light plant within 2-3 ft. of a window with a northern exposure, 3-5 ft. of a window with an eastern exposure, 4-10 ft. of a window with a western exposure, and 10-18ft. of a window with a southern exposure. A low light area has between 50-150 ft. candles of light. The best low light house plants are: Chinese Evergreen, Dracaena Janet Craig, Peace Lily, Heart leaf Philodendron., too much fertilizerPlants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing. Slow growing plants in low light require very little plant food. Too much fertilizer is worse than not enough. Most plants prefer a water soluble plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Plants that are in bloom or dormant should not be fertilized. Houseplant food contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer containing these elements in equal proportion is considered a balanced plant food. Nitrogen helps in photosynthesis and encourages the growth of leaves and stems. Potassium and phosphorus also help in photosynthesis and aid in root and flower development. Most fertilizers have trace elements of other minerals that are lacking in the soil but are necessary for good plant growth. Fertilizers have a high salt content. If a plant is not producing new leaves and doesn’t absorb the fertilizer, salts build up in the soil. These salts can burn the roots, discolor the leaves, and cause new growth to be small. , bright direct sun, very warm temperatures, and spider mitesLearn how to identify and treat Spider Mites on plants. This sucking plant pest causes yellow blotchy leaves with a red haze and a gritty feel to them.. Examine both sides of the leaves of your Ti plant for spider mitesLearn how to identify and treat Spider Mites on plants. This sucking plant pest causes yellow blotchy leaves with a red haze and a gritty feel to them. which suck the color from the leaves. Chemicals such as fluoride, chlorine, and salt in the water also cause leaf damage.

Why did my Ti plant do well when it was outside this summer and now that it's inside it seems to be dying? I haven’t changed anything I was doing before?

Your Ti plant is probably not doing well because now that it’s inside and gets less light and is in a cooler space, it needs less water and less fertilizerPlants need fertilizer only when they are actively growing. Slow growing plants in low light require very little plant food. Too much fertilizer is worse than not enough. Most plants prefer a water soluble plant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. Plants that are in bloom or dormant should not be fertilized. Houseplant food contains nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A fertilizer containing these elements in equal proportion is considered a balanced plant food. Nitrogen helps in photosynthesis and encourages the growth of leaves and stems. Potassium and phosphorus also help in photosynthesis and aid in root and flower development. Most fertilizers have trace elements of other minerals that are lacking in the soil but are necessary for good plant growth. Fertilizers have a high salt content. If a plant is not producing new leaves and doesn’t absorb the fertilizer, salts build up in the soil. These salts can burn the roots, discolor the leaves, and cause new growth to be small. . Cut back on your water and plant food and I bet the plant starts to do better.

Why are the bottom leaves on my Ti plant falling off?

Ti plants, like Dracaenas, are cane plants and it is normal for bottom leaves to drop off when new leaves appear at the top. If the leaf drop is excessive, try giving your plant a little more water. Also, turn your Ti plant every few weeks so all parts of the plant get the proper amount of light.