Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

ID, please, for this hardy long-leaved plant?

Skylark001Skylark001 Posts: 75
in Problem solving



What is the name of this plant, please? 

The browning to some of the leaves is due to the recent very cold snap, when they were both covered in snow for several days.  It's a hardy a plant.  It's growing at 290 metres above sea level, in a very exposed position, south-facing, in well-drained mainly clay earth.  It's a survivor and I'd like to plant some more of them. 

The ones in this photo have not grown any higher in 18 months (no higher than half a metre).  They just get thicker each year, with new "fans" of leaves developing at the base.  These 2 plants were originally 1 plant in an outdoor pot.  It had expanded sideways and was too big for the pot so I halved it and put it in the soil.  18 months later they're pretty happy (except for the cold damage).  And, most importantly, with wild deer frequently passing through the garden, the deer have shown no interest in this plant, which is good.

Posts

  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Phormium... probably the variety called 'Yellow Wave'..
    East Anglia, England
  • Skylark001Skylark001 Posts: 75
    Marlorena said:
    Phormium... probably the variety called 'Yellow Wave'..
    Thank you, Marlorena.  I have googled "Yellow Wave" and, yes, the ones shown online look similar.  And that surprises me because I bought a dozen different kinds of phormiums (different colour combinations) a year ago and planted them all in a similar situation, i.e. south-facing, and on a slope, but they have all died, whereas the two plants in my two photos (which were inherited in a pot left by the previous owners) have survived.  I have been wondering if my two survivors might be a kind of Yucca, perhaps the "Bright Edge" variety which is hardy.  Here's a photo of it.  What do you think?


    https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/yucca-colour-guard-variegated-adams-needle-large?fee=2&fep=20161&msclkid=9df804ec9e8c10c4392a60c8a37e2f2b


  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I have Carex pendula that looks a bit similar.  It can come in from the wild.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    @Skylark001
    No, not Yucca.. if you notice with Yucca the tips are sharply pointed, and some of the leaves have a bend in the middle, you don't find this with Phormiums..

    Phormium 'Yellow Wave' is very commonly planted...  if you are able to cultivate it better by clearing away weeds around the base, snipping off with sharp scissors any dead leaves, feed with a decent fertilizer - they are greedy plants - and then mulch with compost around the base, it will drastically improve the appearance this Spring, and with luck by summer it will throw up tall thick wavy spikes - dare I say Phallic shaped - about 5 foot tall which will produce dull reddish flowers... in their native environment of New Zealand these funnel shaped flowers would be useful to Hummingbirds..

    It's a nice plant when well looked after.. 
    East Anglia, England
  • Skylark001Skylark001 Posts: 75
    @Marlorena, thanks very much for help!

    Here's a New Zealand hummingbird for you! ;-)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcLb98XFmZo&ab_channel=winzfinz

  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    @Skylark001
    That had me fooled for a moment, I thought where's that buzzing coming from..

    I do at least have a hummingbird moth visit my garden, which I think is a good substitute..


    ...good luck with your Phormium.. 
    East Anglia, England
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    The flowers might be useful to Humming Birds, but of course NZ doesn't have them.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    I have wasps on the flowers of my P Tricolor and the flowers are yellow. Darker leaved forms have red flowers. Platt's Black and Blondie are tender and need to be under glass here in winter. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Sign In or Register to comment.