Is autumn a good time to move a phormium?
Q
Can a phormium be moved and, if so, when? Do they benefit from being divided? Llinos Morgan, Llandovery, Wales
A
Phormiums can indeed be moved. The recommended advice is to lift them in spring – and they can be divided at this time too.
However, like many perennials, they can be moved at any time during the autumn and winter as long as the weather and growing conditions are conducive.
If your garden is particularly vulnerable to serious frosts, or your soil is heavy and likely to stay wet and cold through the winter then I would recommend not lifting your plant until spring.
Prepare the new site so that your plant can go into the ground as quickly as possible. Phormiums are easy to divide once lifted by pulling apart the ‘fans’. As
long as a fan of leaves has its own roots it should grow away quite happily.
Fans can be replanted individually, or two or three put together to make a larger clump, though it won’t take more than a season for a single fan to start to fill out. You could also pot up some of the fans to give away or sell.
You might find it beneficial after replanting to reduce the length of the leaves slightly, to prevent the plant rocking in its new soil. However, this is only really necessary on particularly windy sites.
Don’t worry if the plants look a bit battered after replanting – they soon recover when warmer weather arrives!