🌿 PHORMIUM SPECIES cookianum 🌿 New for 2016

PHORMIUM COOKIANUM
("Mountain Flax" / "Wharariki")
Summer 2016 discovery:
A well-established specimen of this plant bloomed
summer 2016 in the garden of an early home
on Shaw Island.
It is one of only two species in the Phormium genus.
Photo from the University of Washington Botanical Garden.
Thank you, Kathleen DeMaria.
 

I missed viewing the flowering period
of this plant,  happy in a private garden.  
The fat, seed-filled  pods  of
Phormium cookianum
were a treat to find, measuring 4.5 inches.
 For the first time in my life I have spotted 
 seeds from any Phormium growing in the PNW.
These were harvested, with
landowner permission, from an area 
 familiar with salt spray of Shaw Island winters.
San Juan Archipelago, WA.
August 2016.

Common Name: "Mountain Flax"; "Wharariki"

Life cycle: Evergreen perennial

Native Growing Region: New Zealand. One of the first plants to be described for science by the botanist on Captain Cook's second expedition to New Zealand that landed in 1773.

Flower Color: Yellow

Blooming: June and July in the Pacific Northwest. This year of 2016 is the first time the specimen bloomed at the UW Botanical Garden in Seattle. Their plant was raised from seed.

Height: 3'-4'
Width: 3'-4'

Exposure: Sun or Shade

Winter Hardiness: 15°-20°

Seaside: Yes.

Water Needs: Medium

Tolerates: Deer and rabbits.

Attracts: The flowers produce a lot of nectar that attracts birds and pollinating insects to the garden.

Attributes: A versatile plant that tolerates a wide range of conditions. Historically, a hugely important fiber plant for fibers for clothes, baskets––

Notes:

"The handmade flax cording and rope had such great tensile strength that it was used to bind together hollowed-out logs to create ocean-worthy canoes. It was also used to make rigging, sails, roofs for housing, and frayed ends of leaves were fashioned into torches for use at night. Roots yielded materials to make medicine, and nectar and pollen were obtained from the flowers to make face paint." from UW Botanical Garden site

The Maori carefully propagated their own Wharariki nurseries and plantations throughout their land. The quality of their rope materials was widely noticed in the world, dating as early as the beginning 1800s. Their industry thrived until artificial fibers caused the demise of their Phormium fiber work. Wharariki is still used for craft papers.

For a dramatic ornamental with tropical foliage in the garden; seed pods add flair to large flower arrangements. 
Nice strong understory plant that is non-poisonous to humans and animals. The root system is good for erosion control.

Sowing:
Best sown in late autumn. Sow in plug trays under glass to increase germination rate in spring. (It can take 1-6 months.) Temperature c. 63°F.  Supply a weak potassium permanganate solution to prevent die back.

AKA 'Mountain Flax" or "Wharariki" (Maori)
from a well-established plant growing
in the marine climate of Shaw Island.
 There is a chance there will be seed packets
for sale at the Gatehouse, 
Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island.