PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for New Zealand Flax (Phormium)
Phormium 'Rainbow Queen'
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
Bold, sword-like evergreen leaves striped bronze, pink and cream. A dramatic focal point for pots and coastal gardens.
Growing New Zealand Flax (Phormium): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well for the first summer, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Moist but well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 1 m
- Height
- 1–1.2 m
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- Balanced feed in spring
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 8–10
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 1 m apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- AprilCut Out Dead Leaves
Cut dead or damaged leaves off at the base.
- NovemberWinter Protection
Mulch the crown in cold areas; move pots against a sheltered wall.
