PERENNIALS > PHORMIUM
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PHORMIUM GUIDES
Common ProblemsContainer GrowingDivisionPruning
Phormiums are two species of herbaceous perennial , dope - similar plant , which can really make a dramatic statement in any garden .
Though unremarkably used exclusively as an ornamental plant in the UK , in other orbit their farsighted foliage character have been used as an economical fibre .
Phormium tenax
In their aboriginal image in New Zealand they are known as ‘ New Zealand Flax ’ , and the plant were widely used for textiles by Maori people and by other settlers.1Hindmarsh , G. ( 1999 , April).Flax – the endure fibre . New Zealand Geographic . retrieve March 22 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.nzgeo.com/stories/flax-the-enduring-fibre/
Phormiums arePhormium tenaxandPhormium colensoi ; to the Maori people , these are called , respectively , ‘ harakeke ’ and ‘ wharariki’.2Harakeke / flax . ( n.d . ) . Department of Conservation . recall March 22 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/harakeke-flax/
“ Phormium tenax is one of my favourite works that can make a real statement in the garden , ” apportion Designer Jacquie Felix - Mitchell .
P.‘Yellow Wave’
“ Just remember to give it space to grow and do its thing . ”
Overview
PreferredFull Sun or Partial Shade
ExposureExposed or Sheltered
Height1 – 2 M
P.‘Sundowner’
Spread1 – 1.5 K
Bloom TimeJuly / August
PreferredChalk , loam , gumption
MoistureMoist but well drain
pHAny
Though called ‘ flax ’ , they are not intimately connected toLinum usitatissimum , the plant known as ‘ flax ’ in the Northern Hemisphere .
Both of these Phormium species , and the cultivars derived from them , are now wide grown as garden plant life in many of the worldly concern ’s temperate region .
And to a lesser extent , they are also still used for fibre production .
Why Grow Phormiums?
Phormiums are prize as ornamental for garden function .
These are large and spectacular structural plant which are prise for their strike longsighted and pointed leafage , and the grandiloquent flower stems with yellow / green or softened red flower deport on mature plant life in summer .
The sharp leaves bend down to make domes of curve leafage .
These leaves are often striped or tinged with shades of cream , yellowish , scarlet or pink along their margins .
Phormiums are drouth tolerant once set up , and make for a good choice for coastal gardens .
They have no solicitation for deer and rabbits , so can be used in garden where these grazers are a problem .
“ The alien feel of Phormium in a British garden can also broaden to the wildlife chaffer them , ” say Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .
“ Starlings and sparrow are partial to the pollen of the flowers and can cause a second glance because it leaves orange stains on the mind of the feeding snort , making it depend like you ’ve encountered a new shuttle species ! ”
Phormium Varieties
There are a lot of cultivar derived fromP. tenaxandP. colensoi .
The RHS has given an Award of Garden Merit to :
As well as looking at the foliage colours and forms for the plants , it is also important , when take a Phormium , to opine about sizing .
TheP.tenaxand ‘ Sundowner ’ for lesson are marvelous specimens , which can strain over 2 m in height .
While others are much more compact and midget , some just over 1 m or a little more in height .
Bear in mind that some Phormiums are hardier than others .
Some are borderline sturdy , and will suffer legal injury in winter where temperature fall below -5 ° C .
Others , such as ‘ Purpureum ’ can cope with -10 ° C or even low temperatures than that .
How To Grow Phormium
Division , carry out in spring , is not just for the purpose of reducing overcrowding , It is also the easiest fashion to obtain novel Phormium plants .
leafage rooter , stark with roots , can be potted up and grown on .
Larger divisions can just be placed decently away into a different part of the garden .
produce phormiums from seed is not for the initiate – it put something of a challenge .
However , if you would like to give it a try , you may collect ripe germ and sow it in a disseminator , at 18 ° C in spring .
Be admonish , however , the seminal fluid may grow into a plant that disagree considerably from the parent flora .
And you will have to be patient , since germination of these seeded player can take up to a year !
Most nurseryman will simply purchase these interesting andexotic - looking plant , rather than go to the rough-and-tumble of trying to propagate Phormiums themselves from seed .
Fortunately , once you have one healthy mature specimen , division provides an comfortable way to increase your works stock .
Planting
Container - grown phormiums are available to buy class - pear-shaped .
However , the salutary prison term to institute these is in the spring , after risk of hard frosts has pass in your area .
When planted fairly ahead of time in the year , the plants will have time over the summer to become make before cold and surface-active agent weather come in autumn and winter .
Be certain to plant the phormium to the same level in the ground or container that it was sat at in the pot in which it come .
Phormiums need a location in full sun , sheltered from prevailing malarky .
In colder part of the UK they will necessitate to be develop in a particularly sheltered pip – against a south - confront fence or wall , for exercise .
In some colder areas , they may still need some wintertime protection .
The soil or develop culture medium in which they are planted must be equally moist yet free draining .
These plants will not well tolerate waterlogged condition , and do not like spend the wintertime in loaded conditions .
They areoften idealistic for a gravel garden , or fora large statement container .
Where planted in heavier or less idealistic soils , the area should be improved with plenty of good caliber organic matter prior to planting .
Phormium Care
Phormiums should be watered on a regular basis over the summer during juiceless spell in their first yr after planting .
However , once established , these plant can be pretty drought kind , and will require watering only during very blistering weather , or longer teetotal spells .
Of of course , plants in containers will require to be watered more regularly , and will be more prone to drought terms .
When you are produce your Phormiums in the ground , it can be good to tot a multi - purpose organic fertilizer such as line , fish and bone to the expanse after spring planting .
flora struggling with establishment may profit from a mulch of compost or well - waste manure .
However , matured ground - growing Phormiums should not usually expect feeding on an on-going groundwork .
Phormiums in container will thrive if provided with an constitutional fluid plant provender from late give through to the center of the summertime .
As mentioned above , Phormiums grow in cold areas , and in particularly cold-blooded wintertime , may need some protection against the cold .
Mulching is not just for adding fertility – a chummy dry mulch of drinking straw or barque applied in winter can help protect the base of the plant .
This should be laid around 10 centimeter thick in fall , before the first frosts , then removed in spring .
In cold parts of the British Isles , it may also be necessary to wrap the top increase with fleece or fleck fabric if a laborious frost is reckon .
By far the most common job people will find when originate Phormiums in the UK is damage due to difficult icing in winter .
A plant can usually find if only a few leaves have been damaged by winter cold .
But if the damage has been more severe , the plants may be slow to recover , or may not recover at all .
Keep the plant life as tidy as possible and ensure it is in the ripe potential location to reduce the probability that something will go wrong .
Phormiums do not necessitate even pruning , but older clumps will take account a springtime tidy - up .
but take away any old , discredited leaf .
Pull or cut them off the plant as close to the stem as you’re able to ; cut out old prime stems too – as low down as you’re able to without doing any harm to ring foliation .
If the clumps have become too large , do not to a great extent lop – instead , you could weigh lifting and dividing the ripe industrial plant .
