Choose a tall upright kind, a compact red or bronze mound, or an arching yellow kind first.
Choose a tall upright kind, a compact red or bronze mound, or an arching yellow kind first
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Back of a border, a stiff screen | A tall upright kind | Do not expect a 6 ft screen from a compact red mound |
| A short accent or a pot | A compact red or bronze mound | Do not treat a compact mound as a tall tenax screen |
| An arching yellow stripe | An arching yellow kind such as Yellow Wave | Do not expect a stiff upright fan from Yellow Wave |
Know your USDA hardiness zone before you pick a type of phormium that will take your winter. Type your ZIP below.
2023 USDA ZIP listings (PRISM / USDA-ARS). Find Your USDA Hardiness Zone · Official USDA map.
Read the tag and match the habit you want: a tall upright fan, a compact red or bronze mound, or an arching yellow kind. [1] Tall upright kinds are the tenax class — stiff leaves and a large clump, not the smaller arching mountain flax. [2] Compact red and bronze mounds stay shorter and sit well in a pot or at the front of a border. Arching yellow kinds spread wider and hold color better with some afternoon shade. [3] Keep the soil draining on How to Grow New Zealand Flax. Set the crown on Planting New Zealand Flax.
Which New Zealand flax should I buy?
Start with a tall upright kind for a screen. Choose a compact red or bronze mound for a pot or a short accent. Choose an arching yellow kind if you want a striped, spreading fan.
Is Yellow Wave a different genus?
No. Yellow Wave is Phormium. It is this genus, not flowering flax and not flax lily.
Browse by kind
These are the kinds in this catalog. [4] Match the habit first: a tall upright fan, a compact red or bronze mound, or an arching yellow kind. Do not buy on color alone when height also changes what you get. If a fan reverts to plain green or bronze, cut that whole fan at the base so the color you bought can hold.
Tall upright kinds
New Zealand flax is the tall upright green fan. All Black and Purpureum Group sit in that same tall group, with dark or purple leaves.
Compact red or bronze mounds
Amazing Red is a short red mound. Dark Delight and Platt's Black are bronze to near-black mounds in the same compact group.
Arching yellow kinds
Yellow Wave is the arching yellow-striped kind. It is wider than it is stiff, not a tall upright screen.
If the tag says only New Zealand flax, check the habit — tall upright, compact red or bronze, or arching yellow.
FAQ
Is Platt's Black a fourth group?
No. Platt's Black is a compact bronze to near-black mound. It sits with Amazing Red and Dark Delight, not with tall tenax.
Is All Black a compact mound?
No. All Black is a tall upright kind. It sits with tenax and Purpureum Group, not with Amazing Red.
Related guides
References
- [1] Royal Horticultural Society -
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/phormium/growing-guide - [2] San Marcos Growers -
https://www.smgrowers.com/info/flax.asp - [3] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/phormium-tenax/ - [4] UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County -
https://ucanr.edu/site/mg-sonoma/phormium-new-zealand-flax
This note is part of Phormium Guides.
More type comparisons by plant are gathered in Types of Plants Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors