Phormium tenax Purpureum - New Zealand Flax

The Phormium tenax Pupureum, a form with purplish foliage of the New Zealand Flax, forms a lush clump of linear and stiff foliage, with a satin finish marked by fine streaks, whose colour varies between bronze, purple and violet. In addition to its colour, this form is distinguished from the type by being less cold-resistant, especially in poorly drained soils. Dark, draped in almost violet foliage in summer, with a full and bold silhouette, it offers a very exotic touch to the garden, throughout the year, including during its summer flowering in upright spikes, also very dark in colour. This very beautiful perennial grows and enhances year after year in a wide range of soils, even dry in summer once it is well established. It can be planted with little maintenance in warmer climates or in a large pot to be stored in colder regions.

The purple New Zealand Flax belongs to the agave family. It is the largest and hardiest of the two New Zealand species. More adapted than P. cookianum to sporadically dry soils once well established, P. tenax is a widely spread plant in its country of origin, where it colonises various environments and soils.  This superb rhizomatous perennial with fleshy roots develops into a large non-spreading clump, composed of multiple rosettes. Each rosette consists of a bunch of folded leaves, overlapped in each other, forming perfect fans. With an upright and bushy habit, it reaches 2 to 3m (9 to 10 ft) in all directions, depending on growing conditions. The leaves are wide, up to 10cm (3.9 in) long, stiff, very long, leathery, pointed at their ends, often split in two at their ends. Their colour, purple tinged with bronze and copper in winter, becomes violet in summer when the plant is exposed to full sun. This plant flowers in summer, in the form of tall floral stems of 3 to 4m (13 to 14 ft) that appear from May to July, depending on the climate, overhanging the clump of foliage. They are blue-violet, and bear curved flower spikes, brown-red and yellow, red when ripe, in tube form. This nectar-rich flowering attracts certain birds and numerous pollinating insects. The flowering causes the death of the rosette, but triggers the birth of a new baby rosette that densifies the bush and allows it to spread laterally.

The Phormium tenax plants are adaptable but rather tender, especially the forms with dark foliage. Their use and chosen location must be carefully considered due to their significant growth and assertive personality. They can be easily cultivated in a large container to be stored in cold climates. 

This botanical Phormium is a sturdy, undemanding plant with real ornamental value. It is perfect for large beds or large rockeries in mild climates, even in direct exposure to sea spray. Used as a standalone plant or planted in groups by combining several varieties with various colours, it structures the space and brings verticality and exoticism to even the humblest decor. It will be enhanced by ground cover plants with varied foliage such as ceraistes, Ajuga reptans, Frankenia laevis, Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' or Artemisia alba, mixed with perennials like California Poppy and Delosperma cooperii. Like tall grasses, it is also a wonderful perennial for a modern garden with clean lines. In an urban garden, it softens concrete structures.  

The Maoris use Phormiums as we use flax, for their fibres that are often used in the textile industry, which is where it gets its nickname 'New Zealand Flax'.