Caroline Status Report – Holding Steady

I went out this morning with the usual mix of hope and mild dread to check on everyone, and here’s the latest from the drama department.

Caroline the Cordyline is still in her long, slow decline. She looks much the same as yesterday — leaves droopy but supported, most of them still green, with that one single tragic upright leaf refusing to give up. After a bit of research and thinking, I’ve decided not to dig her up and move her, or start chopping leaves off just yet. She’s already stressed enough. We’ll leave her in peace until Tom comes in two weeks’ time, then do the proper hard prune down to about 6 inches + soil improvement all in one go.Tom watered her two days ago, so she’s had a decent drink. In the meantime I’ve ordered Maxicrop seaweed extract from Amazon (along with a backup bottle), and I already have peat-free compost, perlite, and a bag of broken eggshells ready to help with drainage and slug defence.So the plan for Operation Caroline: The Final Attempt remains:

• Hard prune to ~6 inches when Tom visits
• Improve the soil around her without major root disturbance
• Start a regular seaweed feeding regime to support root recovery
• Cross everything and hope for the best

She’s had a rough time almost since the day she arrived, but we’re still not giving up on her. She started this whole mad Wildlife Cafe story — she deserves one last proper chance.Fatima the Fatsia, by contrast, continues to look magnificent and is basically showing off at this point. The comeback queen is thriving.The rest of the cast (Felicity, the Walters, Fat Ball, Sheryl & Russell, etc.) carried on with their usual morning nonsense while I was out there. Normal service continues.I’ll keep you updated on how Operation Caroline goes when Tom arrives. In the meantime, fingers crossed and seaweed on the way.

Caroline Update

I’ve decided I’m going to do the prune myself. I’ve ordered plant sealant, seaweed feed, compost and perlite for soil improvement and mulching and a proper pruning saw. I've also got chicken wire to stop the Cyril's from digging around her to bury their nuts, and I'll put crushed eggshells around the base to deter slugs. Operation Caroline is now fully in my hands. I’ll wait for the tools to arrive and then we’ll give her a proper hard cut-back.
Cover me, I'm going in! 😱