Phormium tenax, the New Zealand Flax, is a great 'architectual plant' planted a lot these days in public spaces. It is hardy and dramatic, growing with large spears of foliage reaching up to 1.5 metres high. It does tend to form a rather tight clump of fans of these leaves which do tend to detract from the shape of the individual spears.
An article in Saturdays' Times gardening section, sugested that by choosing the best 'fan' of foliage and cutting out the rest at the base, you will end up with all the plants energy being pumped into the remaining foliage. The result will be a stunning fan of leaves up to 3-4 metres high.
