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Metrosideros 'Tahiti'
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An excellent garden, tub and patio plant with lots of flower and foliage colour. Brilliant red flowers burst from conspicuous red buds from late autumn through to spring. As leaves mature they change from silvery-green to a grey silver providing a stunning contrast to the flowers. 'Tahiti’ produces most of its vibrant, red, pohutukawa style flowers during winter and early spring. Such fiery colours are welcome in the winter garden, helping to distract from the cool weather. This bushy shrub is a bit frost tender, so you have to bear that in mind when choosing a spot. It likes good drainage and sunshine and will grow in quite poor soils, including beach sands, but it won’t stand up to the full force of sea gales the way our native pohutukawa does so give it a bit of protection. It has the advantage over native puhutukawa of being a compact shrub and is therefore easy to accommodate in small gardens, or in a large container. Try mixing it with leucadendrons, leucospermums, echiums and grevilleas and you’ll have a spectacular winter and spring display. Interesting companion for euphorbias and the compact kowhai, Sophora ‘Dragon’s Gold’, too. |
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