Phormium cookianum Maori Maiden

The Phormium cookianum 'Maori Maiden' is a variety of New Zealand flax with moderate growth that offers ever-changing foliage, but always beautifully colored in bronze, green, pink, salmon, with a hint of purple-red. This perennial plant forms a dense tuft of gracefully arched ribbon-like foliage, offering a particularly exotic appearance throughout the year, including during its summer flowering with upright red spikes, adorned with very nectar-rich tubular flowers. It appreciates mild climates and is hardy down to about -7°C (19.4°F) at its lowest. When isolated, in a rock garden or in a bed, this graphic plant is ideal for coastal regions. It will also thrive in a large container on an exotic or contemporary terrace, to be overwintered in a cool climate.

The 'Maori Maiden' New Zealand Flax belongs to the agave family. It is a compact form derived from Phormium cookianum, the smaller of the two New Zealand species. This superb rhizomatous perennial develops into a large non-invasive clump. With an upright and arched habit, it reaches approximately 90 cm (35in) to 1.10 m (4ft) in height depending on the growing conditions, with a spread of 80-90 cm (32-35in). The leaves are quite wide, slightly arched, very long, arched, and pointed at their ends, with various colors depending on the season. The center of the leaves turns pink, apricot, and red, while the margin displays different shades of green, bronze, and even brown. Tall flower stems of at least 1.50 m (5ft) appear from May to July, depending on the climate, towering above the foliage clump. They are green tinged with purple-red and form curved flower spikes, in the shape of tubes, which become more or less brightly red when ripened. This flowering attracts certain birds and many pollinating insects.

This 'Maori Maiden' Phormium is a plant of great ornamental value, suitable for large beds or rock gardens in mild climates. Used individually or planted in groups, it structures the space and adds 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 placed in a very large pot on the terrace or balcony, to admire its elegance during the warm season, and overwintered frost-free in a cold greenhouse or a minimally heated conservatory. In a very sheltered urban garden, it softens the concrete structures. For an exotic and contrasting ambiance, it can be paired, for example, with Leptospermum Kiwi, a pink to red ball-shaped plant that flowers in summer, Helichrysum rosmarinifolium 'Silver Jubilee', Pittosporum tenuifolium Tom Thumb, or even agaves, perfect plants for coastal areas.

The Maoris use Phormiums as we use flax, for their fibers that are used in the textile industry. From this ability comes the vernacular name of 'New Zealand Flax'.