Question

My Cordyline was growing really well, it's only 3 years old and it's already 8 foot.  There are two new shoots growing from the base, they look lovely but now I have noticed the centre leaves from the new shoots have turned brown.  Does this mean they are going to die?  Will they recover?  What should I do?

Answer

New young tender leaves can be damaged by several things such as extremes in weather and some chemical like foliar fertilizers and pesticides if used incorrectly.

If only the new emerging leaf is damaged the following new leaf should emerge ok but if the damage is deeper, the whole growing tip may die and rot out.  Then the plant will develop multiple new shoots along the stem.