PlantFiles: New Zealand Tea Tree, New Zealand Tea Bush, Manuka
Leptospermum scoparium

When I got this from the nursery they had the wrong latin name on it--they had the Leptospermum right but not the rest. I have it planted in partial shade and I have a xeri yard. I LOVE it! I've had it about 2 years now and for the last 12 months it has been in continual bloom. It always has 3 colors of flowers on it; white, pink and near red. The blooms darken as they age. It was a bit "thin" but is thickening up now and since I finally know what it is, I will be able to better care for it. I'm also looking forward to propagating it so I can have more around the yard. It has had no pest or fungus problems, & withstands our heat, drought, & high humidity with aplomb. Truly a delight!

Nice plant with lots of flowers, but be careful not to overwater it, especially if it is in soil that is not well-drained (i.e. clay soil).

Mine is doing very well near salt marsh but in moderate shade very near wax myrtles Started blooming late Feb and has been blooming heavily through March and April. Responded to light fertilizer. Plant is four years old but only about 4' 6". Plant is troping heavily to more sun so I may try one in noon sun . Silver grey plant with deep pink blooms is visual spotlight in front of green background. Deer ignore. Some write-ups say it is not good for zone 8 but no apparent damage from brief temps in mid 20's. High summer temps and humidity of SC don't seem a problem

These seeds were extremely easy to start. I aquired 3 packets of Leptospermum- Scoparium var. NEW ZEALAND TEA - TREE seed last year. I stored them in the freezer, in a sealed canning jar with 2 packets of silicon and other seed packets. In January of 2008, I slit a clear one gallon water bottle across 3 sides leaving the top half on to act as a greenhouse. I made drain holes, added a coffee filter, and cut small slits around the top sides, added seed starter mix, sprinkled the seed on top and sprayed the already damp soil and seed. I taped the container middle closed and forgot about it. It sat in the window for quite a while, and one day I noticed there were hundreds of them that had germinated. Now this is the weird part! Those seedlings remained bright green with red stems for the rest of the winter, not growing at all. The soil would dry out and I would forget it for weeks at a time and they sat there still healthy and green. I then sat the bottle outside some time around April in filtered sunlight, removing the top completely and they still sat there looking the same way, soil dried out or not. I got tired of looking at them actually, because they never changed or grew any taller. Then I just noticed today since the temperature has hit the 80's and 90's that they're a little taller now, so today I transplanted about ten of them into pots. I still have a lot of them in the plastic jug. If anyone wants some of them, you're welcome to them. I still have seed also. I'm a beekeeper and that's why I had an interest in them. If the potted ones make it, I'll put them in a greenhouse for winter, I live in zone 5a.

I would not consider this plant xeric! I have to water it regularly. Planted inground, on southside of property. I have rated it Neutral because for me it tends to get ratty but must be careful when pruning as you might take off a major branch before you realize it. Definitely attracts bees, birds and butterflies.

3/2003

I love this plant... It blooms so often, and is lovely. I have mine on NE side of house and it has lived 4 years... I agree that it does not like long hot afternoon sun. Tolerates Clay!!! Extremely cold winters will kill it off. This was a bad winter, and two newer plants died out, but the older one is still beautiful. I have bought several more for my new house.

I purchased two of these and one died as it was planted in full sun. Moved the other to partial shade/sun with western exposure and she is growing quite nicely. Will update again after this winter, but she is holding up with tempertures dipping into the low 30/s - high 20's.

3/18/03
This plant did in fact die, however, I found out that I was killing this plant with kindness. I was told that I was giving it too much water!!!
I did purchase two new plants as I am in the process of redoing and adding to my gardens. I am trying to decide what area would be better for them as they do not need as much water as some and or most of my other stuff. Will update once again once I get them settled.

There is a groundcover L.scoparium with pink flwrs. It is about 4"H, very slow-growing, with irregular cover. Useful only in certain situations; e.g., where you want winter/spring bulbs to come up in wet season and then summer over with little or no water. Anything aggressive (ivy, aptenia, etc.) will quickly overrun it. Not the most attractive form of this plant -- the shrubs are reasonably pretty and very xeric, the tree forms can be quite pretty and take well to pruning. Because leaves are small and stiff, rather prickly, mulch is a necessity because the open structure will not keep the weeds down.

Great for Bonsai but very difficult. Don't disturb the roots! Possible from seed but very difficult. Tea made from leaves was supposedly used by Captain Cook as cure for scurvy.

Here in California a red-blooming variety is sold as Australian Tea-Bush and a pink one as New Zealand Tea-Bush.