Bill –
Don’t give up so quickly. I have saved various cordyline plants of mine for years. I have either kept them activily growing in a sunny window through the winter or have kept them alive, but dormant, by storing them cold (40 F).

Last season, I purchased an expensive one ($30) in a larger size and it spent the summer in the garden. I brought it inside in the late fall, not willing to see it freeze to death. It survived the winter but looked like a tree by May. I thought I would air-layer the stem but never got around to doing it.

This spring, I purchased a second one and both are in the perennial garden as burgundy accents. I like the spiky form and their deep color.