Phormium tenax Rainbow Queen - New Zealand Flax

The Phormium hybrid 'Rainbow Queen' is a beautiful variety of New Zealand Flax, with remarkably colourful foliage. Its leaves are like wide variegated ribbons, ranging from green-bronze to pink-red and purple, and gathered in a fan shape, forming an imposing tuft with a slightly trailing habit. This evergreen plant offers a particularly exotic appearance to the garden throughout the year, including its summer flowering with upright spikes adorned with nectar-rich tubular flowers. Whether planted individually or in groups, this highly architectural but not very hardy plant is ideal for coastal regions. It will also thrive in a large container, to be overwintered in cooler climates.

The 'Rainbow Queen' New Zealand Flax belongs to the agavaceae family. It is a compact form derived from Phormium tenax, the larger of the two New Zealand species. This superb rhizomatous perennial develops into a non-spreading large tuft. With an erect and arching habit, it reaches a height of about 1m (3.3ft), depending on the growing conditions, with a spread of 1 to 1.20m (3.3-4ft). The leaves are wide (up to 10cm (3.9in)), slightly arched, very long, a little stiff, and pointed at their tips, with a bronze-green colour invaded by purple-red and pink, turning browner towards the end of the season and in winter. Tall flower stalks, at least 1.50m (5ft) high, appear from May to July, depending on the climate, overhanging the foliage tuft. They are green, tinged with purple, in the form of curved tube-shaped flowers, which take on a bright red colour when ripe. This flowering attracts certain birds and numerous pollinating insects.

This Phormium is a plant of great ornamental value, suitable for large beds or large rockeries in mild climates. Whether used individually or planted in groups, it structures the space and provides a very exotic charm to the garden. Like large grasses, it is also a wonderful perennial for a modern garden with clean lines. In colder regions, it can be planted in a very large pot on the terrace or balcony, to admire its presence during the season, and overwintered frost-free in a cold greenhouse or a minimally heated conservatory. In an urban garden, it softens concrete structures. For an exotic and contrasting atmosphere, it can be associated with Leptospermum scoparium, a pink to red ball-shaped plant that blooms in summer, Helichrysum rosmarinifolium 'Silver Jubilee', Pittosporum tenuifolium Tom Thumb, or even Olearia macrodonta 'Major', plants also perfect for coastal areas.

The Maoris use Phormiums in the same way we use linen, for their fibres in the textile industry. This is probably where the vernacular name 'New Zealand Flax' comes from.