Gardening with Ciscoe ( www.ciscoe.com ) Gardening - Q & A

Phormium (New Zealand Flax) / pruning

Q: We have about 10 New Zealand Flax plants, all four to six feet tall, in our condominium complex. The plants were cut back about one to two feet last spring and seem to have come back well, flowering late in the summer. The landscape gardener has suggested/requested that the flax be cut down to about six inches from the ground this spring. He indicated this was necessary to remove dead leaves and to promote healthy growth. Some of the homeowners in the complex are strongly against this severe cutting. Is this the proper pruning for these plants?

A: Usually the only time I cut New Zealand flax down near the ground is if the winter beat the living tweetle out of them, making them look horrible. If they look half-decent, then I just cut the leaves that don't look good down to the ground, leaving the rest. That usually results in a very attractive plant. If you have to cut them down because they look terrible, cut it as close to the ground as possible. The plant will look bad in early spring and summer, but once it grows back it will look great. If they're cutting them down because the plant is too big, it won't work. By the end of the second summer the plants will be as tall as they were before they cut them back, so if the object is to keep them in scale it would really be much better to replace them with something more appropriate rather than hack them back every 2 years. Just my opinion, hope it helps.