Sweet Mist® New Zealand Flax

Sweet Mist New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax 'PHOS2') is a dwarf bronze flax that stays at about 400mm high and 400mm wide, which makes it one of the most compact phormiums you can buy. The upright bronze leaves give the colour contrast of a full sized flax at a size that fits a low border or a patio pot, and Ozbreed selected it because it is tougher and cleaner in leaf than the older dwarf bronze forms. It is a cool climate plant: at home from Sydney south, not a choice for Queensland.

Why you'll love it

• Bronze colour at a small scale. Deep bronze foliage holds its colour year round and contrasts with silver, lime and green plantings in a modern garden.
• Genuinely compact. 400mm in both directions keeps it in proportion in a narrow bed or a pot, where larger flaxes outgrow the space in two years.
• Cleaner foliage. It holds fewer dead and tattered leaves than older dwarf bronze flaxes, so it looks tidy with less grooming.
• Frost hardy. It takes frost in its stride, which suits Tasmania, the tablelands and the Victorian and South Australian inland.
• A fill in plant that stays put. Use it to plug gaps between shrubs and tussocks knowing it will not swamp its neighbours.

Where it works best

Low borders and mass planting. Plant 35cm apart (six to ten a square metre) in blocks, or 30cm apart in a single row along a path, where the bronze reads as a solid band.

Containers and patio pots. One plant fills a 300mm pot with upright colour and the compact habit keeps it in balance for years. It suits a courtyard with morning sun and afternoon shade.

Fill in planting. Tuck it between larger shrubs and strappy plants for a bronze accent that never needs holding back.

Growing Sweet Mist New Zealand Flax in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade. Ozbreed recommends it for Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, the ACT and New South Wales no further north than Sydney, so it suits cool temperate, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi arid gardens and not Queensland or the humid north coast. In Sydney it needs a shaded position and irrigation, except on the coast, where like the species it handles full sun and salt wind.

Soil. A wide range of soils, with free draining soil preferred. Plant with the crown at the surface and mulch with a chunky mulch.

Water and feed. Water as required for the first 8 to 13 weeks and expect to water through summer every year; it tolerates moderate dry spells, not hard drought. A slow release fertiliser in spring is optional.

Pruning. Pull or cut out older leaves as they brown. Every five to seven years cut the clump back to half its height in late winter; every five keeps it at its best.

What to expect when it arrives

We sell Sweet Mist New Zealand Flax in 140mm pots in packs of 10 and in 200mm pots in packs of 6. The 140mm plants suit a long border or a mass planting; the 200mm plants already show their bronze fan and look finished in pots straight away. Flax travels well, since the leaves are tough and upright, and establishes through its first season.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• See the full Ozbreed range
• More grasses and strappy leaf plants
• Plants for small gardens and courtyards
• Frost hardy plants for cold gardens

Common questions

Will it grow in Queensland?

No. Ozbreed does not recommend it north of Sydney or anywhere in Queensland, where humidity and summer rain rot the crown.

Does it flower?

Rarely. Dwarf flaxes seldom flower and the foliage is the feature, so do not expect the tall flower spikes of the full sized species.

How much water does it need?

More than a lomandra. Keep it watered through its first 8 to 13 weeks and through each summer, especially in Sydney and dry inland areas.