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Products > Phormium Sweet Mist ['PHOS2'] PP20,249
 
Phormium Sweet Mist ['PHOS2'] PP20,249 - Sweet Mist New Zealand Flax

Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Phormium Sweet Mist ['PHOS2'] PP20,249
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Phormiaceae (~Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: New Zealand (Australasia)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: NA
Bloomtime: Infrequent
Parentage: (P. tenax 'Atropurpurem selection)
Height: <1 foot
Width: <1 foot
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Seaside: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F
Phormium Sweet Mist ['PHOS2'] PP20,249 – (Sweet Mist New Zealand Flax) - This was an exciting new New Zealand Flax cultivar when we first saw this plant as it was a very small compact flax that formed tight 1 foot tall clumps with numerous fans of 8” long very narrow (about 1/4 inch wide) arching leaves that were a flat bronze color. With this color, size and compact form, this plant was unlike any other New Zealand flax that we had ever grown, looking more like a bronze Ophiopogon than a Phormium at first glance. Sweet Mist has not been observed to flower by us or the breeder but many of the dwarf flax in cultivation for over 20 years have never bloomed, so this is not unusual.

Plant in full sun to light shade. Can tolerate fairly dry conditions (coastal) but looks best with occasional to regular irrigation. Cold hardy to 15-20° F and possibly root hardy below these temperatures but with severe foliage damage unless protected. In our trials this plant was difficult to grow and seemed particularly to resent heavier soils and shade. The breeder also noted that it is not as tolerant to humidity as some flax. As with the other small flax, make sure to plant with crown slightly high and avoid burying plant with soil or fine mulch.

Phormium Sweet Mist was selected in 2002 by Todd Layt from a group of seedling Phormium tenax growing at a nursery in Clarendon New South Wales, Australia for its dwarf growth habit and the green colored foliage that matured to red brown. It was first featured in the Australian Plant Varieties Journal (Volume 20, Issue 1), granted Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) status and has an application submitted for a US Plant Patent. Marketing of this plant is being done by Ozbreed USA. This plant received U.S. Plant patent 20,249 in 2009. We first received this plant for trial from Celebrated Plants in June 2007 and thought it would be a great plant for massing to contrast with low growing silver or gray foliage plants or as a small or mixed container plant but unfortunately it really didn't pan out and we only sold it in 2013 and 2014. 

The information about Phormium Sweet Mist ['PHOS2'] PP20,249 that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.