New Zealand Flax (Fiber Lily, Flax Lily)
Phormium species and hybrids. AGAVACEAE.
Planting and Growing New Zealand Flax
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow New Zealand flax in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of New Zealand flax
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for New Zealand flax
- Season of bloom and planting time for New Zealand flax
- When, how deep, and where to plant New Zealand flax
- How to plant New Zealand flax
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of New Zealand flax
- Landscape and container uses of New Zealand flax
- Comments about New Zealand flax and its features
Growing New Zealand Flax
Members of a 2-species genus of fast-growing, bunching, evergreen herbs, 7–15 ft. (2.2–4.5 m) tall and wide, with fibrous or rhizomatous roots. Shiny, variegated or striped, narrow, sword-shaped, pointed, stiff leaves, 3–5 ft. (90–150 cm) long.
Commonly cultivated species include fountain flax, Phormium cookianum, and New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax, together with many named hybrid cultivars, including Phormium X ‘Apricot Queen’, ‘Dazzler’, ‘Gold Sword’, ‘Maori Maiden’, ‘Red Heart’, and ‘Sundowner’.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Showy, dull red, yellow, tubular, 6-petaled flowers, 1‑1/2–2‑in. (38–50‑mm) wide, in branching clusters, in spring–early summer.
Best Climates
Semi-hardy. Zones 7–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist to damp, well-drained, sandy humus. Fertility: Rich–low. 6.0–8.0 pH. Moderate to very salt tolerant.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full to filtered sun, 4–8 ft. (1.2–2.4 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize semi-monthly in spring–autumn. Deadhead spent flower stalks. Prune to remove broken, spent leaves at base of plant, maintain shape. Protect from freezing. Propagate by division, offsets, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for accents, backgrounds, banks, barriers, windbreaks in arid, seaside, Xeriscape gardens. Good companion to cacti, succulents. Frost accentuates foliage coloration. Pest resistant. Crown rot susceptible.