Gene is giving me more credit than I deserve, but I do appreciate it. His advice is right on the mark and I don't have a lot to add.
Thank you for buying my book, Carol. I'm glad you found it helpful. My publisher made me limit the number of pages and therefore, the number of plants included. I thought it was more important to provide very detailed information about each plant in my book, rather than the usual pictograms for a thousand different species. Hence, I had to select the plants that I am most commonly asked about and Cordyline didn't make the cut. Gene is right that the local climate is mostly irrelevant unless you are living in an igloo somewhere. Most houseplants are tropical in origin and only require warm temps indoors all year round.
Your Cordyline is similar to your Croton in its light requirements. If you open up the sheers, the leaves will develop more color. It can tolerate getting a little drier than the Croton and it prefers slightly warmer temps, but the differences are not major. You were right to move your Janet Craig away from the direct sun.
For someone who has only started with plants a year ago, you have an impressive collection!
