History and Facts

• Captain Cook first collected flax bushes in 1773 while on an expedition to the South Pacific. The Maori people of New Zealand used these plants extensively. Flax bushes produced a root juice that acted as a disinfectant for wounds, and yielded a gum that soothed toothaches. The Maori sweetened foods and drinks with a juice they extracted from the blossoms, and made fishing lines, nets, ropes clothing and baskets from the leaves. European settlers to New Zealand cultivated flax bushes as ornamental plants and began selectively breeding cultivars as early as 1888.
  
  

Species

• Phormium tenax or harakeke thrives in wet lowland areas of New Zealand. It reaches heights of 12 feet, with a 6-foot spread and a clumping form. Its leaves, which can grow as long as 10 feet, are linear and rigidly upright. This plant produces tubular red blossoms. Upright black seed pods later replace the flowers. A similar species called Phormium cookianum or wharariki grows at higher altitudes. It is smaller in size, usually only reaching around 3 feet in height, and has greenish flowers followed by drooping seed pods.
  
  

Ecological Benefits

• Flax bushes provide food and shelter for a variety of animals and insects. Flax snails live in the northern parts of New Zealand, and they live under flax bushes but do not eat the foliage. Geckos, bellbirds, tui birds and short-tailed bats feed on flax nectar. Gardeners often cultivate flax bushes in native landscaping plans to attract native birds. These plants also work well as pioneer plants in restoration plantings, because they are easy to establish and provide shelter for other plant species.
  
  

Cultivars and Care

• Several cultivated varieties or cultivars are commercially available, giving growers a wide variety of sizes, forms and colors to choose from. Phormium tenax "Smiling Morn," is a popular cultivar in New Zealand as of 2011. The Rainbow Hybrid series includes varieties such as Phormium tenax "Sundowner," "Dazzler" and "Maori Queen." Flax bushes are hardy in United States Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zones 8 through 10. They prefer full sunlight and nutrient-rich, well-drained soil and propagate by plant division or seed.