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Products > Phormium 'Mat's Merlot'
 
Phormium 'Mat's Merlot' - Matsuda's Dark New Zealand Flax

Note: This plant is no longer in stock. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Phormium 'Mat's Merlot'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Perennial
Family: Phormiaceae (~Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: New Zealand (Australasia)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Red
Bloomtime: Spring/Summer
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 'Mat's Merlot' (Matsuda's Dark New Zealand Flax) - This New Zealand Flax cultivar grows upright 4 to 5 feet tall with 1 1/2-inch-wide leaves that are a dark reddish brown on the upper surface and a smoky dark green below and leave tips that arch over gracefully.

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. A nice dark color stable New Zealand Flax that is redder and a littler larger than Phormium 'Dark Delight' and with foliage that arches elegantly like Phormium 'Wildwood', but is narrower.

This plant was selected by Matsuda nursery in Sacramento, California. It is not the same as the more erect patented plant from New Zealand called 'Merlot'

The information displayed on this page about Phormium 'Mat's Merlot' 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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