Deija-Marie Cooper thanks! Will try:-)

Don't try, just do it. :) Hey I was wondering could you write down the karakia please if you can. Cheers.

Deija-Marie Cooper its on my website www.flaxworx.co.nz - under the harvesting (how to ) section

Hello I have been searching your website for the karakia unfortunately to no avail could you please help

Thank you Elizabeth! I made that video about 4 hours after landing home again from the UK... it was inspired by all the Phormium Bushes I have seen there in fact:-) It seems it has gone full circle:-) Glad I could be of help!

@@Flaxworx amazing! It only occurred to me today to look on youtube for information about this plant, I've been looking at it for over a year thinking what on earth do I do with it and how do I care for it. It is full of spiders and mould at the bottom and its huge🙈 I really want to clean it up. I started weeding at the bottom of it today and a bird flew out and there is a nest of baby birds down there in the bottom haha!!🙈

@@DrBiohack I did run a workshop in Northumberland on how to harvest and care and then we wove with it too on a weekend workshop. That is when I got the idea to make that particular video. I have since seen a lot of it everywhere that needed a bit of TLC and even knocked on peoples doors and told them every so often when I travel:-) LOL bit obsessed really... even here not many outside the weaving community know how to look after them. Some councils plant them as hedge plant - the worst idea ever...

+Rewiri Tarapata Kia Ora Rewiri, thank you! I could suggest a few things to help your plants along - the first would be to cut all the tiny secondary fans out that sometimes pop up and weaken the plant - leave only the big frans and cut those to three. Some plants naturally thin out from the middle outwards after a few years though. The other thing is after you have given them a good thorough clean right down to 3 (or if even those are diseased or insect infected cut them completely - they will re-grow) - give them a bit of food.. sheep pellets or worm juice will help them but it takes time - about 6-8 months minimum before they back to their original height - in that time make sure you check once a month or so for those little fans popping up and the plant diverting its energy to all of those as well as the big fans you want...

+Rewiri Tarapata oh and to your other question - why not to burn - it's tikanga - it may be different in every region and I have heard many different explanations over the years. I like the one where harakeke or rather muka is said to be hair... and hair does not get burned either - in fact there is a variety that is called Makaweroa ... so this kinda makes sense to me. I have heard other explanations as well but frankly I just take it as tradition - just like the other things we should or should not do while weaving / working with harakeke/korari

+Kara Kokko thanks! those plants have grown heaps sine we've done this video - hard to keep on top of it now..

Kia Ora Pat, thank you! I am not sure to be honest - all I usually see is bees and birds - but we don't really want them to polinate in a Pa to keep the different varieties pure.

Glad it was helpful!

I’m in Australia too, you can do it here. I found loads of NZ Flax in Sydney.

Thank you! Yes they are - and so versatile!

+Amanda Murray Hi Amanda, oh yes - I do know a few of those kinda bushes - that have been left to their own devices for a long time. Yes you do cut ALL of the dead stuff out - you may have to change knife blades a few times as the dry stuff is hard on the knife and cut them as low to the ground as you can - then you cut the big fans down to the middle 3 and if there are any small or tiny fans - I tend to cut them out completely to free up space - by the sounds of it you may also want to split that bush to make it smaller. When they become really big they also tend to die from the middle outwards - so the middle is empty and the outer leaves form a ring. Whereabouts are you based? If in Auckland - we are cleaning at our Pa a lot and could give you a live demo one day

+Flaxworx Hi, thank you so much for your quick answer. I actually live in the Far North. Its interesting that they die in the inside and form a ring, sounds like we could possible have a natural playhouse for my children (sounds exciting). Thank you for your offer of attending the pa for a demo from you. To thin it out more, shall I cut the base off the outer plants and put them in the compost? Or would it be best to leave all the plants how they are just trimmed to the baby and parents?

Amanda Murray ah - far north - thats more like my neck of the woods - I live in Russell - hm - that kinda depends - I am very brutal sometimes but I clean them to have the best weaving flax - so if that is not your aim...just trim them to the parents and the baby.

@@hcjabtmurray7513 We have been making huts in the garden with the kids today. Next to the spot they chose we have some flax (I have no idea what type). So I decided we could learn to do some weaving and use some of it in the hut. I was thinking the same as you about the inside of the flax plant, we will clean it out to be a little part of the hut.

Kia Ora Metorgam, yes we weavers do know the smell well and each variety has a slightly different one and the birds love the flowers. Sadly there is no product that I know of that incorporates this scent - there are hand cremes I think that have the root of the plant in it but not the flower smell.. sorry!

@@Flaxworx Thats so sad, thank you for your answer and please let me know if you know anyone who might know where i can find it🌺

its on my website under the karakia tab:-) (flaxworx.co.nz) - it is only one of many though...

Te harakeke te kōrari Ngā taonga whakarere iho O te rangi O te whenua O Ngā tohunga Homai he oranga mo matou Tihei mauri ora

Nga mihinui

This paa is currently closed for harvesting as it needs to regenerate. However, Most of us started by driving around our neighbourhood, looking for plants that looked suitable, and then knocking on people's doors. I met some wonderful people doing that and found some amazing plants, too. But otherwise, could you ask around North Shore Marae to start with? Then, of course, there is the council that used to have a list of reserves around Auckland where one could get permission to harvest (there are many places where that is allowed and actively encouraged). Also, most weavers will eventually plant their own paa, either on whanau land, marae or around their own homes (if they own it, but even some landlords don't mind these days). That is the best way to do it, as you will only have access to them then. More often than not, we clean up several bushes and hope that the next time we come back to them, we can harvest the good leaves (with all the hard mahi being done), and then we find that someone else came and took the good leaves... so having your own paa on private property is best. In any case, asking permission is the number one thing to do, and also, if it is an established paa, ask how they want you to clean (there is more than one way to do it) and how to dispose of the "rubbish" as that is a big part of it as well. It is generally frowned upon to just leave it for the next person to clean up unless there has been a prior arrangement made (e.g. if the council or property owner says you can leave it one place for them to pick up, that is a good option). I also had a good relationship with a number of schools over the years. Some have wonderful plants and are very happy if someone else takes care of them. So there are lots of options.

@Flaxworx thank you for your reply. I have been given permission from the council for a local area. Some of the flax is hard to get to . I went to the local Marae and they let me harvest some there but they also do raranga teaching for local schools so they didn't have much. I love your videos. Thank you for your mahi. I'm just starting my raranga journey.

They are not "FLAX" as in Linus... so no, they are not edible as far as I know...

Harakeke/NZ Flax Botanical: Phormium Tenax (as in the title of the video...)

It depends. Firstly, not all plants flower each and every year... so there is plenty of others one can harvest from and weave with... Secondly, we do prepare a lot of rau during the year and dry them for later so that we always have a supply for when they are flower or the weather is too bad for harvesting. Many weavers these days take away all the outer leaves and leave the flower standing for the birds, others take the flower out so there can't be any cross-pollination with other plants, and others still adhere to the stricter rules and don't harvest at all. Bear in mind that the fan that flowers will die, so on that one there are no younger ones left - the youngest and last is the flower. However, that also makes space for new fans to grow in that void. some plants grow upwards literally on top of each other and others will end up being empty in the middle due to age. Each and every weaver has their own handed down set of tikanga depending for their paa or rohe so there is no one set of rules for all. I have met weavers who happily harvest in the rain... I was taught, never to do that... so it also depends on who your kaiako is...

@@Flaxworx Echt hilfreich, danke! Übrigens, Jens Schlopfhauer wohnt gerade bei uns in Thames, und er lässt liebe Grüße ausrichten! Er hat uns über dich erzählt :).

Your friend was having a laugh. There may be public reserves/parks where the local council doesn't want people chopping down all the harakeke, but you can do what you like with the ones in your back garden. And there are plenty of places where it's growing wild in abundance where you can harvest, with proper care and attention not to take too much and not to waste what you take.