walking around the block tonight i noticed that a neighbors nzflax had
a stalk/flower starting

really upset cause my two plants are 10+ years old and never had a
bloom

so got home and looked at them and just then she came driving
down the st and asked her how come? she had a bloomer and i
didn't, maybe the fertilizer?

then we both looked at my plants and to both of our surprise
mine were both blooming

my question is

what have my plants been doing for 10 years
and why is her's blooming and it is only 2 years old

what be the answer?

bill

You must not have been very observant in the past years.

mcameron, bill wrote in message
...
walking around the block tonight i noticed that a neighbors nzflax had
a stalk/flower starting

really upset cause my two plants are 10+ years old and never had a
bloom

so got home and looked at them and just then she came driving
down the st and asked her how come? she had a bloomer and i
didn't, maybe the fertilizer?

then we both looked at my plants and to both of our surprise
mine were both blooming

my question is

what have my plants been doing for 10 years
and why is her's blooming and it is only 2 years old

what be the answer?

bill

You must not have been very observant in the past years.

mcameron, bill wrote in message
...
walking around the block tonight i noticed that a neighbors nzflax had
a stalk/flower starting

really upset cause my two plants are 10+ years old and never had a
bloom

so got home and looked at them and just then she came driving
down the st and asked her how come? she had a bloomer and i
didn't, maybe the fertilizer?

then we both looked at my plants and to both of our surprise
mine were both blooming

my question is

what have my plants been doing for 10 years
and why is her's blooming and it is only 2 years old

what be the answer?

bill

You must not have been very observant in the past years.

no, and apparently you are not an expert

walk/drive by my plants 6-10 times a day

no stalk flower before this year

if there ever was one and i missed it, what happened to it?

bill

How would you know if I were an expert or not?

Do I have to be from New Zealand to know about Phormium and how to grow
them?

You probably didn't know what the flower stalks looked like until you saw
your neighbor's plant in bloom.

The floral stems are rather wiry and the flowers are not very showy and do
not open widely because they are adapted to bird pollination.

Check out this website for more info about Phormium and you will be your own
expert.

http://www.houseleeks.freeserve.co.uk/phormium.htm


One thing not mentioned on the website is that Phormium cookianum is now
divided into two subspecies. The southern-mountain form is typical
P.cookianum, while the northern-lowland form is now P.cookianum ssp.
hookeri. Consequently typical P.cookianum is the most cold hardy taxon in
the genus and has much potential in breeding better hybrids.

Wardle, P. (1979) VARIATION IN PHORMIUM COOKIANUM (AGAVACEAE). New Zealand
Journ. Bot. 17 (2): 189-196.


mcameron, bill wrote in message
...


You must not have been very observant in the past years.

no, and apparently you are not an expert

walk/drive by my plants 6-10 times a day

no stalk flower before this year

if there ever was one and i missed it, what happened to it?

bill

well

you may well be an expert on the plants

but these plants in seattle must have developed into a unique sub
group

the neighbor has a balcony not 15 feet from the plant overlooking it
and in the 3 years it has been there has never seen a flower stalk

i have cut grass, weeds, roses, these plants
for the last 10+ years and never observed anything other than
leaves

so ....................assuming that all the other plants flower each
year, why haven't these 3 and/or what prompted them to do so this
year?

"mcameron, bill" wrote:

well

you may well be an expert on the plants

but these plants in seattle must have developed into a unique sub
group

the neighbor has a balcony not 15 feet from the plant overlooking it
and in the 3 years it has been there has never seen a flower stalk

i have cut grass, weeds, roses, these plants
for the last 10+ years and never observed anything other than
leaves

so ....................assuming that all the other plants flower each
year, why haven't these 3 and/or what prompted them to do so this
year?

You have provided the missing ingredient in your quest - the location! It
seldom gets hot enough here for phormiums to set flower buds. This past
winter was so mild, that must have been part of the impetus for these
plants to bloom. FWIW, mine, which is at least 10 years old and massive,
has never produced flowers and still shows no sign of doing so as it is
now in a partial shade location. Full sun plants may very well bloom this
season in Seattle, although it is never a sure thing. Our specimen plant
at the nursery has also produced flower stalks for the first time in its
history. Fertilizing should have little or nothing to do with it - it is
totally a function of heat (or lack of it).

pam - gardengal

Did you inadvertently fertilize them?

Why are you asking us anyway?

You are the one who did something different that made them bloom.


mcameron, bill wrote in message
...
well

you may well be an expert on the plants

but these plants in seattle must have developed into a unique sub
group

the neighbor has a balcony not 15 feet from the plant overlooking it
and in the 3 years it has been there has never seen a flower stalk

i have cut grass, weeds, roses, these plants
for the last 10+ years and never observed anything other than
leaves

so ....................assuming that all the other plants flower each
year, why haven't these 3 and/or what prompted them to do so this
year?

On Fri, 06 Jun 2003 01:05:11 GMT, Pam wrote:



"mcameron, bill" wrote:

well

you may well be an expert on the plants

but these plants in seattle must have developed into a unique sub
group

the neighbor has a balcony not 15 feet from the plant overlooking it
and in the 3 years it has been there has never seen a flower stalk

i have cut grass, weeds, roses, these plants
for the last 10+ years and never observed anything other than
leaves

so ....................assuming that all the other plants flower each
year, why haven't these 3 and/or what prompted them to do so this
year?

You have provided the missing ingredient in your quest - the location! It
seldom gets hot enough here for phormiums to set flower buds. This past
winter was so mild, that must have been part of the impetus for these
plants to bloom. FWIW, mine, which is at least 10 years old and massive,
has never produced flowers and still shows no sign of doing so as it is
now in a partial shade location. Full sun plants may very well bloom this
season in Seattle, although it is never a sure thing. Our specimen plant
at the nursery has also produced flower stalks for the first time in its
history. Fertilizing should have little or nothing to do with it - it is
totally a function of heat (or lack of it).

pam - gardengal

thanks, seattle it be, and it was a mild winter and it is hot now

and it is so pleasant to hear an expert that can see through a
situation and is not fixated on their rightness and can offer another
explaination other than the writer's lack of observation

bill