Metrosideros excelsa - New Zealand Christmas Bush, Pohutukawa

In their homeland New Zealand Pohutukawa Trees (Metrosideros excelsa) blossom around the turn of the year and are therefore called Christmas trees. In this country these evergreen shrubs with grey leaves show their exotic flowers usually from June to August as a dense hemisphere or cylindric cluster of red brush-like flowers. These form a beautiful contrast to the silver- grey, silky-soft leaves and shoots. Pohutukawa Trees do not like permanently wet soil but are otherwise easy to care. Due to their enormous adaptibility Pohutakawa Trees (as they are called by the Maori) are suitable for pots on a terrace as well as being planted in a wintergarden or as a solitairy plant in a room. Also, they can easily be trimmed as a spherical bush or clear stem.

Quality: red brush-like flowers and silvery- grey leaves; contrasty; compact habit; easy to care; adaptable to temperatures from 0 to 18 °C
Use: in pots from April/May to October outside on balcony, terrace or garden - during winter in the house; all year round in a greenhouse or bright room