Growing Phormium

[vomog]

Hi all I live in northern France and am presently growing some Phormium Tenax. They are about 2ft long now. Presently they are covered, but I would like to know at what stage they can handle our climate to be planted out. They were grown from seed last spring. Cheers. John

[told2b]

[Jeff Layman]

What colour is the foliage? In general, the purple-leaved ones are somewhat less hardy than the green or variegated forms. FWIW, the non-purple ones seem to be hardy in the south of England, so I see no reason why they shouldn't behave similarly in northern France.

If green, yours should be safe to plant out now. Be aware that they grow to a pretty large size; in the right climate they'll be 6x6 foot in less than 10 years.

[vomog]

Thanks for that. Will try them out in large pots.