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Products > Phormium 'Firebird'
 
Phormium 'Firebird' - New Zealand Flax

Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Phormium 'Firebird'
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Phormiaceae (~Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: New Zealand (Australasia)
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Insignificant
Bloomtime: Spring/Summer
Height: 4-6 feet
Width: 3-4 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Seaside: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F
Phormium 'Firebird' (New Zealand Flax) - A beautiful New Zealand Flax cultivar that grows a full 5-6 feet tall with upright stiff 2 inch wide rose-red leaves with bronze-green margins. Red tones fade to a bronze-orange in summer. Plant in full sun to light shade. Can tolerate fairly dry conditions (coastal) but looks best with occasional to regular irrigation. Hardy to 15-20 F. Possibly root hardy below these temperatures but with severe foliage damage unless protected. We have been growing this colored flax from flax hybridizer Margaret Jones since 1990. It is a stable clone that does not have the foliage reversion problem that plagues some of the other colorful flaxes but does benefit from the annual removal of older faded foliage to enhance the look of the beautiful new foliage. Introduced in 1982 by Ms. Margaret Jones of New Zealand Flax Hybridizers in Tauranga, New Zealand. 

The information about Phormium 'Firebird' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

 
San Marcos Growers, established in 1979, will close at the end of 2025 so that the property can be developed for affordable housing.
 
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