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Products > Phormium 'Yellow Queen'
 
Phormium 'Yellow Queen' - New Zealand Flax

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Phormium 'Yellow Queen'
 
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Phormiaceae (~Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: New Zealand (Australasia)
Evergreen: Yes
Yellow/Chartreuse Foliage: Yes
Variegated Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Red
Bloomtime: Spring/Summer
Parentage: (P. 'Yellow Wave' x P. cookianum 'Tricolor')
Height: 3-4 feet
Width: 3-5 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Seaside: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F
Phormium 'Yellow Queen' (New Zealand Flax) - New Zealand Flax cultivar that grows to 3-4 feet tall with slightly arching and twisting 1 1/2" wide pale yellow leaves with green margins. 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. We received this plant originally as 'Apricot Queen' in 1985 from Margaret Jones's New Zealand Flax Hybridisers Nursery but over the years it has seemingly lost all of its apricot coloration. We feel it is still a good plant but the name misleading so we now call this plant 'Yellow Queen' and have purchased new stock of 'Apricot Queen' from New Zealand that has apricot coloration. Over the years this plant has proved to be a little variable in height in our garden planting. We have had plants in containers for 10 years that never exceeded 2 feet while others in the ground for a similar period of time have reached 4 feet or more (all from the same parent stock). We like this plant but wish it would behave itself. Variegation is stable with little or no reversions noted other than the loss of the apricot tones. This cultivar survived many years in a pond planting with its crown elevated above the water surface and was also used in large hanging baskets at Roger's Gardens Nursery in Corona del Mar (as pictured elsewhere on our website). The original 'Apricot Queen' was the result of crossing Phormium 'Yellow Wave' with P. cookianum 'Tricolor' and was bred by flax hybridiser Mr. F. Jury of Waitara, New Zealand. 

The information displayed on this page about Phormium 'Yellow Queen' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.

 
San Marcos Growers, established in 1979, closed for regular business on December 23rd 2025 as the property will be developed for affordable housing.
The gates are closed but we will be open by appointment only as we liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment. Our remaining plants are listed on our Live Inventory Page.
 
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