Blog: New Zealand flax that won’t make your plot look like a roundabout
When plants are new to the market, it’s easy to buy small potted specimens that turn into monsters. New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) is a prime example. However, well-behaved cultivars exist – my guide to using Phormiums in small gardens.
I fell foul of P. tenax when first in garden centres and before they took over every council roundabout planting scheme. People loved them – easy to look after, evergreen, architectural and exotic. Sadly, few labels said how big they would grow, like Leylandii conifers in the 1970s!
Using Phormiums in small gardens – A small plant that became a giant
My plant was the plain-leaved variety and became a giant with 8ft long leaves, enveloping the neighbouring weeping cherry. I’ve grown to hate that plant – it’s a nightmare to cut the leaves (you’ll need a sharp knife or remarkable secateurs) and I can’t contemplate moving it!
One bonus is the huge flower spikes – deep red, on sturdy but light stems taller than the leaves. I use these as rustic supports around the garden. Māori traditionally use the fibrous leaves in making textiles, rope and sails like sisal or hemp.
Using Phormiums in smaller gardens today
Luckily, 25 years on, Phormiums come in an array of colours and sizes. Ideal for a tropical look, in coastal gardens, or providing winter colour and form, as long as your soil isn’t too cold or wet. I’ve chosen three of the most popular smaller varieties, two for pots and one for my long bed. They sum up the vast colour spectrum you can now choose from – very dark, pink or multicoloured.
All like full sun or light shade and don’t like cold, soggy soil in winter – add grit in the planting hole. Treat borderline hardy plants to a mulch before winter if you live in a cold area. If you get flowers, they will appear from July to August.
Platt’s Black
This dwarf, slim variety has deep purple-black leaves but needs good drainage in winter, so it’s not the best flax to choose if you’re in a wet, cold area. It makes a great container centrepiece or a border specimen. Contrast it with silvers, pinks, blues and whites. Expect a spike of tubular, red flowers in warm summers. Height 90cm x 60cm, hardy to -10 °C.
Using Phormiums in small gardens – Maori Sunrise (Rainbow Sunrise)
Another flax growing to 90cm tall, Maori Sunrise (sometimes called Rainbow Sunrise) is much bulkier than Platt’s Black, growing to 1.5m wide. It looks particularly exotic, with slender apricot, gold, pink and bronze-striped leaves, although mature plants carry more bronze. I have this in a large container. Height 90cm x 1.5m, hardy to -12C. Flowers from July to August.
Pink Panther
This incredibly coloured cultivar’s gracefully arching leaves are vivid pink, edged with bronze, with the brightest colours developing in full sun. Some people may find it vulgar, but I love it! It’s ideal for a tropical/jungle theme or a courtyard where your colour and shape is coming from leaves, not flowers.
I’ve planted mine in a border accompanied by other strong architectural or big-leaved plants – Melianthus (honey bush), Chinese rice paper plant (Tetrapanax rex), Japanese sedge (Carex Evergold) and Euphorbia characias wulfenii. Height 1.2m x 1.2m, hardy to -12C.
Hope you’ve enjoyed my brief overview on using Phormiums in small gardens. Of course, these are just three examples out of hundreds – for more information, check out these RHS pages.
