1m spread Cordyline is a bold and handsome evergreen shrub that slowly develops a tree-like form. It has a dramatic and exotic appearance with an attractive architectural shape, forming either a single trunk or multiple stems topped with dense tufts of long, narrow, leathery leaves. Cordyline is sometimes known as cabbage palm, New Zealand cabbage tree or Torbay palm, although it isn’t actually a palm tree or anything to do with a cabbage. Advertisement The most widely grown species is Cordyline australis which is native to New Zealand. It has plain green leaves, although there’s a range of cultivars with variegated, coloured or multi-coloured foliage. Green-leaved forms are largest and fastest-growing and can reach around 5 metres high. Coloured and variegated varieties are less vigorous and rarely grow larger than 2.5-3 m high, and less when grown in containers.