Phormium tenax Dark Delight - New Zealand Flax

The Phormium hybride Dark Delight is a variety of New Zealand Flax among the darkest you can find. It is in full light that it reveals all its splendor; forming a beautiful upright tuft, with a bold habit, the foliage is crossed by the sun in different shades of brown to purple, while against the light it appears almost black, with reflections of blackcurrant to mauve. Over time, its long leaves take on a bronze to blackish hue. Offer this astonishing perennial a deep, fertile soil, and the gentleness of a coastal garden, it will also thrive in a large pot in all regions.

The 'Dark Delight' New Zealand Flax is a New Zealand cultivar introduced by Margaret Jones in 1979. Like all Phormiums, it belongs to the agave family. It is a variety mainly derived from the Phormium cookianum or mountain flax, and to a lesser extent from the P. tenax, the larger of the two New Zealand species. This superb rhizomatous perennial develops slowly, in a large non-spreading clump. With a very upright habit, it reaches an average height of 1m depending on growing conditions, with a spread of 1m (3ft) or more in fertile and moist soil. The evergreen leaves are wide, measuring  3 to 4cm in width, and 1.20m (1 and 4ft) in length, rigid and pointed at their tips. Their color, more pronounced when the plant grows in full sun, is a mixture of brown and purple, becoming darker towards the end of the season and in winter. Floral stems, at least 1.30m (4ft) tall, appear from May to July, depending on the climate, towering above the clump of foliage. They are tinged with black-purple, in the form of curved tube-shaped flower spikes that turn a more or less bright red 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. Used as a specimen or planted in groups, it structures the space and gives a very exotic charm to the garden. It will be enhanced by silver ground cover plants such as dwarf artemisias, Nepeta mussini, silver basket, or blue fescue carpets. Like tall grasses, it is also a wonderful perennial for a modern garden with clean lines, for example installed on a bed of pebbles. In cold regions, it can be planted in a very large pot on the terrace or balcony, to admire its elegance during the growing season, and overwintered frost-free in a cold greenhouse or a lightly heated conservatory. In an urban garden, it softens concrete structures. For an exotic and contrasting atmosphere, it can be associated, for example, with Leptospermum scoparium, a pink to red ball-shaped flower in summer, Helichrysum rosmarinifolium 'Silver Jubilee', Pittosporum tenuifolium Tom Thumb, or even Olearia macrodonta 'Major', plants also from Oceania, perfect for coastal areas.

The Maoris use Phormiums as we use flax, for their fibers that are used in the textile industry. This is probably where the vernacular name 'New Zealand Flax' comes from.