Phormium ‘Bronze Baby’

Bronze Baby Phormium (Phormium tenax 'Bronze Baby') is a compact New Zealand flax with arching strap leaves in deep bronze red. It holds at about 70cm tall and 80cm wide, which keeps it in scale in a pot or the front row of a border where a full sized flax would take over. The colour is there every day of the year, with no flowers to wait for and almost nothing to do.

Why you'll love it

• Year round colour without flowers. The bronze red foliage carries a bed through winter, when most colour in the garden has gone.
• Compact by nature. At 70cm by 80cm it never needs cutting back to fit, unlike the larger phormiums that swallow a courtyard.
• Coastal proof. Salt tolerant and wind firm, so it holds its shape on an exposed beachside block or a windy balcony.
• Drought and frost tolerant. Once established it copes with dry spells and cold snaps without missing a season.
• Almost no maintenance. No pruning, no staking, no deadheading. Pull the odd spent leaf and that is the job done.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. A single plant suits a 400mm pot for years, and the upright fan shape gives height in a mixed planter without crowding it.

Borders, edging and mass planting. Plant 60cm apart for a solid band of bronze. That spacing lets the clumps touch without shading each other into thin, floppy growth.

Coastal and feature planting. Salt and wind tolerance make it a reliable front garden plant near the beach, and a single clump reads well against pale gravel, render or timber.

Growing Bronze Baby Phormium in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the deepest bronze; in part shade the leaves turn greener and the clump opens up. This is a warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean plant. It is frost hardy, but in tropical and subtropical humidity it is short lived and prone to crown rot, so northern gardeners should look elsewhere.

Soil. Drainage is the one real requirement. It grows in sand, loam or improved clay, but not in ground that stays wet. On heavy soil, plant on a low mound.

Water and feed. Weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. A light dressing of controlled release fertiliser in early spring keeps the colour strong; overfeeding just makes soft, floppy leaves.

Grooming. Do not shear it. Pull dead leaves out from the base by hand, since a leaf cut halfway never regrows its tip. Lift and divide every four or five years if the centre thins.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is sold as tube stock. Tubes are young plants, usually two or three fans of leaves, and they travel extremely well, which is what makes them the value choice for a long border or a mass planting.

Expect a plant filling a 300mm pot within a season and reaching full size in about two years. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95,. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Designing with ornamental grasses and strappy leaf plants
• Browse the grasses and strappy leaf range
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens
• More plants that thrive in containers

Common questions

How many do I need for a border?

One every 60cm. At that spacing ten plants cover about 6m of edge and close into a continuous band of foliage within two seasons.

Will it grow in Brisbane or the tropics?

Not reliably. Phormiums resent long humid summers and tend to rot at the crown, so they are best kept to warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens.

Does it flower?

Rarely, and the flowers are insignificant when they appear. Buy it for the foliage colour, which is the whole point of this selection.

How big a pot does it need?

400mm wide is comfortable for a single plant long term, with free draining mix and a working drainage hole. Repot or divide every four or five years.