How To Divide And Propagate Phormium, Dividing New Zealand Flax, Plant Propagation

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How To Divide And Propagate Phormium, Dividing New Zealand Flax, Plant Propagation

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3 жыл бұрын

How To Divide And Propagate Phormium, Dividing Phormium ‘Maori Queen’, Dividing New Zealand Flax, Propagating Phormium, Plant Propagation
Phormium or New Zealand Flax have some of the most impressive summer flowers, held aloft their canopy of foliage, but it is their striking sword like foliage that makes them so nice to have in the garden.
Evergreen foliage plant that forms a great clump of architectural interest, and happy to be planted in a large container or in a sunny free draining soil.
Whilst some varieties are compact, only reaching about 1m in height and similar spread, some other varieties can get up to 2.5m.
The variety in this video is ‘Maori Queen, that gets around 1.5m-2m high and similar width.
This is a job that can either be done in spring (March April) or at the end of summer (September).
Having planted it for the customer about 12 or 15 years ago, the plant is now starting to show its age with the older middle section now showing signs of die back. Some of this die back is undoubtedly due to the cold start to the season but most is due to the age.
Tools required:
Sharp spade,
Clean and sharp secateurs,
Gloves
⚠️First thing to remember is that you should wear gloves to clean up Phormium as despite their appearance, the edges of the leaves can be sharp enough to cut your skin. Also mind your eyes on the ends of the leaves. ⚠️
So, with gloves on look at the base of the plant where the base rhizome and roots form.
If needed use a sharp spade to cut through the root zone, or use your hands to pull the clumps apart.
Make sure to remove all dead or rotten sections.
Once the clumps have been removed from the main plant start to clean them up. Start by removing the dead leaves to the base of the clump.
Next, use your secateurs to cut the remaining, older, leaves down to about 10” (25cm).
Cutting the leaves down will reduce moisture loss, make the plants more stable, as well as making planting easier.
You now have your sections prepared, ready for planting.
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Пікірлер: 39

@kieranreilly7511 2 жыл бұрын

Just found your video and very timely too. Only today I got a van full of Phormium for free. The original owner wanted them to go to a new home. I’ve just now divided the mother plant, cleaned the excess leaves. I’ve put them In buckets of water until planting out tomorrow as they are quite dry. Thanks again for explaining what you do. Very helpful.

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Kieran, Many thanks for watching the video and taking the time to message, much appreciated. It’s always a bonus when you get given free plants, and ones that are quality. They should all take so that will give a great display. Enjoy your planting 🌴

@libbysevicke-jones3160 11 ай бұрын

Gidday from New Zealand. Thank you for the video. Good tip is to cut your flax leaves on an angle on the 45 degree with the point inward. This prevents rot from forming within the plant. /\ so the plant looks a bit like an arrowhead. I’m busy separating at the moment and transplanting the young external plants around my property.

@diyhomeandgardening 11 ай бұрын

Many thanks for watching and messaging. As Phormium have a solid leaf structure, and are evergreen, then cutting straight makes no difference to cutting on an angle. The leaves have a solid cell structure so don’t create pockets for water to settle in to cause rot. Also, due to leaf structure from the rhizome, much like with Irises, the angle of leaf cut won’t affect water flow onto the rhizome itself. Cutting the leaves, for us, is only done to prevent wind rock whilst the newly divided plants establish themselves. Hope this helps explain our methods. Enjoy all your plant division and gardening 🪴🌼

@Islandgirl4ever2 3 ай бұрын

I just found your video now, because I transplanted my phormium, it was looking too great, and when I dug it up, it was sitting in really water-logged dirt.. I hope it recovers and hope it grows nice and big, so I can split it one day.. Great info, thanks.

@diyhomeandgardening 3 ай бұрын

Hi Leesa, Many thanks for taking the time to watch the video and to also message. I’m sure that once the roots can dry a little the plant will soon thrive again. They are tough plants but no good when the weather has been as bad as it has been, and for such a long time. All the best and hopefully you can enjoy your garden as summer finally approaches 🌼🌺

@danhowland6694 6 ай бұрын

good job ...i was going to be gentle but as you video shows the plant doesn't mind a bit of force in the dividing process thanks

@diyhomeandgardening 6 ай бұрын

H Dan. Thanks for watching and taking the time to message. Phormiums are pretty tough plants so long as it’s not too cold and the ground too wet. They respond well to dividing too. All the best for when you tackle the job 🪴

@siriwegmueller8436 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent, thank you!

@diyhomeandgardening 3 жыл бұрын

No problem, and thank you for watching and messaging. Much appreciated 👍

@simonbuckley4187 10 ай бұрын

Hi DIY Home and Gardening, I just bought 2phormium 'pink stripe' new Zealand flax and was wondering if you had and experience on how hardy they are ? thanks.

@diyhomeandgardening 10 ай бұрын

Hi Simon. Many thanks for your message. Pink Stripe is a great variety of Phormium as it has good foliage colour and plenty of vigour. Whilst it is pretty hardy to the cold, down to about minus 5 to minus 10 degrees, it still does not cope well with prolonged cold and wet spell. So wherever you plant it make sure that you provide a good amazing of drainage to create a freely draining soil. For the first year or two it is generally advisable to wrap the plants using a couple layers of horticultural fleece during the winter period, until the plant root zone and plant crown has developed some strength. All the best and enjoy the colours 🌸🌺

@isabelscott4773 Жыл бұрын

Great video, unfortunately I'm still stumped. Everytime I try to do the 'brute force' method or get in there with a spade I end up will no roots and just the fan. Luckily all of my attempts are on plants of monster size, so I have many more tries to go! Any advice?

@diyhomeandgardening Жыл бұрын

Hi Isabel. Thanks for watching and the message. Easiest way to split the plant is if you can dig around and beneath the plant so that when you cut through the plant the roots come apart much easier. Maybe tease the plant apart rather than full on brute force 😂 Good luck for summer 🌼

@actaranaki 11 ай бұрын

You have to cut the flax on an angle not straight

@diyhomeandgardening 11 ай бұрын

Hi. Thanks for your message and watching. Not sure what cut you are referring to but I assume it to be the leaves. With Phormium, and other solid leaf type plants like Iris, it doesn’t matter what angle you cut at as there is no open stem for water to sit in. The main thing is to cut the leaves low enough to prevent wind rock and excessive dehydration. Hope this helps you 🌸🪴

@thothtahuti5509 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I just got a few cleaned pieces (as you've shown) but wasn't sure how best to plant them as I'm in Christchurch and we can get heavy frost/below zero temperatures so I was worried about it's survival likely hood, any pointers? Hottest, most protected area....? Medium light spot and frost cloth...? Most protected area possible and build the ground up slightly with well draining soil to avoid "drowning it"...? Thanks for the good video even if you don't read comments I appreciate the knowledge ::)

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and your message. I read all comments and always try to reply. Phormium are perfectly hardly down to about minus 10degrees or so. They can tolerate lower temperatures so long as they are in free draining soil and it isn’t prolonged freezing. They naturally want free draining soil and a full sun position. When you replant add some fresh compost around the sections to provide extra nutrients and some warmth around the roots. So long as you replant properly and cover the roots fully with soil, so that the soil comes just below where all the base leaves form then the plant will be fine. You could put fleecing material over the plant if you are expecting heavier frosts. Sounds like you have got some good plans though. Good luck and hope you enjoy your extra Phormium plant foliage and flowers.

@patwinter1877 2 жыл бұрын

I've also just found this video. We had to cut a huge phormium out of a rather big pot. It was extremely pot bound. I've taken sections of it before and they've done well but I'm unsure how to divide these strong, resistant roots. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Pat. Thanks for watching and your message. If you are struggling to separate the roots then a good way is always to soak the whole rootball in a container of water. After a short while the roots and compost they are in should separate easier. If that doesn’t work then take a pair of clean secateurs to the thicker tap roots and try to preserve the more fibrous roots. Hope that helps you. Good luck with the reporting and division.

@295868 2 жыл бұрын

This has been so helpful, thank you! Mine is huge and I have to do something with it because its taking over the garden...but I was told you should not cut the leaves so now Im confused...

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the message. I don’t think people realise how big some of these varieties do get. If you do the division in the summer/autumn then it’s fine to cut the leaves back. By reducing the leaf area it reduces evaporation so the plant will survive better. Those cut back leaves won’t grow bigger again but as new foliage grows you will find that the damaged leaves naturally die off anyway. Good luck for when you do split your plant up.

@295868 2 жыл бұрын

@@diyhomeandgardening Thank you so much! I've been trying to find a solution to this for years and mine is currently over 6ft tall and about 4 ft wide!...the flower is gorgeous but no one seemed to know how to look after it or maintain it....Now I know I think Im going to tackle this in the spring next year and get the side of my garden back as nothing grows now due to the overshadow of the Flax.....So glad I found you.

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

@@295868. You can still cut back the flowering stems now but don’t cut more than that. Cut the flowering stems down as far as possible and then in spring those stems can be removed totally.

@295868 2 жыл бұрын

@@diyhomeandgardening Oh okay, thats good to know- thanks... Ive literally been pulling out the dead stems as I go but Ive watched this thing get bigger and bigger and bigger as the years have gone on...it was in a huge pot for a while then just went yampy when I planted it next to my pond and that's when I realised it loved to be wet...I filled in the pond this summer so Im think its a perfect time to get to grips with it this coming spring.....Thanks again! Looking forward to reclaiming some garden Lol

@pearcemachineshop5200 3 жыл бұрын

👍

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Hope you tried some 🌼

@aceofspades5786 Жыл бұрын

Looks brutal, have a big one to do, year on after this video, how did they take ?

@diyhomeandgardening Жыл бұрын

Hi. Thanks for the message. The plants were doing well when I last went to the customer at the end of November. We have had a very hard winter so I’m not sure whether it will be looking as good when I go back at the end of the month.

@barbiebarden7374 Жыл бұрын

When is the best time to do this?

@diyhomeandgardening Жыл бұрын

Hi. Thanks for watching and the question. I’m not sure where you are based but in the U.K. this is a job that can either be done in spring (March April) or at the end of summer (September). Just make sure to re plant straight away, and into free draining soil. Good luck with your gardening 🌼

@sallybush6454 Жыл бұрын

Hi...do they have seeds if not can u take a cutting😊

@diyhomeandgardening Жыл бұрын

Hi. Thanks for watching and messaging. Phormium plants only flower once they are very mature and will only produce flowers after a prolonged hot summer therefore growing from seed is not generally possible. Tissue propagation can be achieved through professional micro propagation so again not really possible for a normal gardener. The only easy way to propagate Phormium is through division I’m afraid, hence the video. Hope you enjoy your weekend 🌼

@debbiefry1543 2 жыл бұрын

Can I divide phormiums in the autumn ?

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Debbie and thanks for your message. You are a bit late to lift and divide Phormium if you intend to plant them back into the garden as there is a very high chance that the plant sections will seccumb to the cold wet of the winter. If you lift and divide the plants, pot them up to grow in a protected place such as a greenhouse or conservatory then they will be okay. Hope that helps you.

@debbiefry1543 2 жыл бұрын

@@diyhomeandgardening many thanks for that advice. I don’t have a greenhouse so will wait for the spring👍

@diyhomeandgardening 2 жыл бұрын

@@debbiefry1543. Definitely a safer bet

@karlbowley9532 3 жыл бұрын

Can I do this now please

@diyhomeandgardening 3 жыл бұрын

Hi. Thanks for your message, you definitely can divide up the Phormium at the moment. Just make sure to water to keep the roots moist by regular watering if it is dry.