On Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:18:29 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:16:20 +0100, Pam Moore
wrote:

Has anyone tried removing a phormium? Which is the best way?
How deeply rooted are they?
My daughter has 2 phormiums in her garden which have outgrown their
space. She wants to get rid of them.
Even trying to get a fork in is difficult, so digging them out seems
impossible. She is considering an axe!

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Pam in Bristol

Never actually dug one out, although I've considerably reduced the
girth of one and I've removed several pampas grasses over the years
and the approach is similar.

I used a combination of heavy grub-axe, a good pair of loppers and a
sharp hand axe, the sort used for chopping firewood. Dig a trench on
one side of it, and then tackle the individual shoots, one at a time.
Pull them down and away from the core of the clump, and then hack down
on the join with whatever combination of the above tools takes your
fancy until it comes away. Repeat with the next shoot, and so on until
the job's done.

Or get a man with a mini-digger!

Thanks Chris, that's particularly helpful. Sadly there's no access to
the garden for a mini-digger, but I'll give my grandson your
instructions. He's just finishing school and needs something to
occupy him while he waits for exam results. An axe it will be! Two
phormiums should tone up his muscles!

Pam in Bristol