SP.OR.METTOM-0100
Metrosideros NZ Christmas Tree is a spectacularly hardy evergreen tree originating from New Zealand, where native trees of this variety live beyond 100 years old and reach heights in excess of 15m. More typically, Metrosideros NZ Christmas Tree is cultivated as a high quality ornamental tree across Australia and many other parts of the world, including the United States and South Africa. As a small to medium sized evergreen tree, when grown in an amenity setting (park, nature strip, treescape), Metrosideros NZ Christmas Tree requires very little maintenance, is highly drought tolerant and can handle sea-spray, so it is quite a robust plant.
The all encompassing Spring-Summer flush of red colour is obviously very impressive, however the rest of the year, the plant maintains a coverage of dense, leathery silver-green foliage, providing an attractive feature. For this reason, Metrosideros NZ Christmas Tree is often planted alongside fences to provide a dense screen. In some instances, the plant is hedged at a very young age, to provide a thick and robust medium sized (2m) hedge, particularly in coastal regions where it is very difficult to establish plants with dense foliage.
In its native habitat, Metrosideros NZ Christmas Tree plants can be found growing on cliff-faces and similarly precarious positions, which confirm the suitability of Metrosideros species as a robust and hardy bonsai specimen.