Plant name

drewmoores

Hi please can anyone help I have this plant in my garden and it's grown a huge purple stem out of it which I think looks like it might flower but I didn't think these types of plants flowered, thanks.

Andrew 

Last edited: 21 June 2016 17:57:21

drewmoores

Another pic

Fairygirl

It's a Phormium . They do flower - and that is the flower spike - but it can take a few years for them to do it, and even then , it can be a hit and miss thing. The flowers are interesting, rather than blousy!  

drewmoores

Thanks for that I planted this last year and the stem has grown out of nowhere is it rare for them to flower then?, what do you mean by blousy I'm not a keen gardener at all  so excuse the lack of knowledge, thanks 

Fairygirl

The flowers are quite restrained in style - not like a rose or anything big and showy. They're usually orange, and not unlike Strelitzia flowers which are often called bird of paradise as they look 'bird like'. 

They're really grown as foliage plants though. One of mine flowered last year or the year before, so I'll see if I can find a pic of it. I had two identical plants - bought at the same time, planted in the same containers - everything the same, but only one flowered.

Some plants can throw out a flower when they're under stress - for instance, if they're short of water or nutrients etc. It's a reaction to that because, if they think they're about to die, they try to reproduce, hence the flower