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Products > Phormium Black Adder ['FIT01'] PP20,451   Phormium Black Adder ['FIT01'] PP20,451 - Black New Zealand Flax      Habit and Cultural Information Category: Perennial Family: Phormiaceae (Phormiums) Origin: New Zealand (Australasia) Evergreen: Yes Red/Purple Foliage: Yes Bloomtime: Infrequent Height: 3-4 feet Width: 2-3 feet Exposure: Sun or Shade Seaside: Yes Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F Phormium Black Adder ['FIT01'] PP20,451 (Black New Zealand Flax) - A New Zealand Flax cultivar with lustrous slightly glossy dark blackish-purple upright leaves that grow slowly upwards to 3 or 4 feet tall and arch over near the tips. Plant in full sun to light shade. Can tolerate fairly dry conditions (coastal) but looks best with occasional to regular irrigation. Hardy to 15-20 F. Possibly root hardy below these temperatures but with severe foliage damage unless protected. 'Black Adder' is a spontaneous tissue culture mutation of Phormium cookianum 'Platt’s Black', a cultivar selected by Mr. Graham Platt of Platt's Nursery in Auckland from seed collected from Phormium 'Black Knight'. 'Black Adder' was discovered by Pat Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Nurseries in March 2003 at in a laboratory in Enniscorthy, Ireland and grown on for evaluation at Mr. Fitzgerald's nursery in Kilkenny, Ireland. This sport has glossier foliage of a deeper blackish purple as compared to the dark brown color of the parent cultivar 'Platt’s Black'. 'Platt's Black' is sometimes listed as a Phormium cookianum cultivar and we often see 'Black Adder' listed this way as well but Peter Heenan treated 'Platt's Black' as a hybrid in his 1991 Checklist of Phormium Cultivars, published by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, so this should hold true of this sport from that plant as well. This plant received U.S. Plant Patent 20,451 on November 3, 2009 and was introduced in the U.S. by Anthony Tesselaar Plants of Melbourne, Australia.  This description of this plant is based on our research and our observations of it growing at the nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens. We always appreciate receiving feedback of any kind from those who have any additional information about this plant, particularly if they disagree with what we have written or have additional cultural tips that would aid others growing Phormium Black Adder 'FIT01' PP20,451 .     [MORE INFO]