Ti (kī)

Cordyline fruticosa

Sweet roots baked for days in earth ovens; leaves wrap food and thatch roofs, and mark sacred ground.

Type: shrub · perennial vegetables, greens and herbs
Hardiness: zones 10 to 12
Light: part shade
Size: about 10 ft tall, 4 ft wide
Harvest: year-round
From: New Guinea; a Polynesian canoe plant
Drought-hardy once established
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.

Good for: food.

Native to: Hawaiʻi & Pacific Islands, South & Southeast Asian tropics, New Guinea & Melanesia. Hardy in zones 10 to 12.

The story

Ti is one of the most sacred canoe plants, carried throughout Polynesia. Its leaves wrapped food for the earth oven (umu, imu), made skirts, rain capes and thatch, and were planted to keep away harm. Its large sweet roots were baked for days into a sugary treat.

Planting

Sun or part shade, drained soil; frost-free (zone 10 and up), or a pot indoors in winter. Plant a stem cutting, which roots easily.

Growing

Keep moist and feed lightly. Cut stems back to make it bushy and replant the cuttings.

Harvest and use

Use the leaves to wrap fish, pork, taro and sweet potato for steaming or the earth oven. Old roots were baked for a long time until sweet.

What to watch for

Frost; mealybugs and scale indoors.

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More perennial vegetables, greens and herbs

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home