Phormium

New Zealand Flax, or Phormium, is a handsome long-lived evergreen shrub that forms bold clumps of elongated sword-shaped leaves. The attractive, often colourful foliage looks good all year, and makes the perfect foil for other plants in borders, raised beds, gravel gardens and pots. It has a wide range of leaf colours, including olive-green, purple, yellow, cream, red and apricot variegations, in wide or fine stripes.

Occasionally, phormiums produce flower stems in summer, which are tall and branching with yellow-green, reddish or brown flowers. Plant height and leaf length varies considerably according to the variety of phormium you're growing, from as little as 1m to several metres.

Phormiums originate from New Zealand, where their tough, fibrous leaves were traditionally used in weaving and basket making. Phormiums are moderately hardy once established, although not suitable for cold, exposed sites.
Plant phormiums in spring or early summer in a sunny spot in fertile free-draining soil. Keep moist during dry spells for the first growing season, but after that phormiums growing in the ground need little care and pot-grown plants need only watering.

Price per pot