Eight years in the making

For the past eight or so years I've been telling everyone that the compact, small-leafed shrub growing outside my courtyard gate is a type of Australian pohutukawa. It's never flowered, it's proved incredibly slow growing (1.5m in eight years is not my idea of speedy) and if it weren't filling up an awkward space I'd probably have trashed it ages ago.
Until last week, when the new growth I thought was just leaves burst into flower. Vibrant flowers. Red flowers with yellow tips and a slightly odd smell. Rata flowers, in fact. To be more precise, southern rata, my belated investigations on the internet have revealed.
I'm hoping none of the people to whom I have described it as "something Australian" will remember that, since it's now perfectly evident that it isn't.
I suppose I should be grateful it's not a pohutukawa, since I've never really been a fan, as botanically unacceptable that is. And now that I see the rata flower, and can compare it to pohutukawa (yes, I may not like them but I do have a couple) I feel completely justified in my opinion that pohutukawa don't get quite red enough. They always look to me as if they lost interest just at the last minute.
However, since it's the festive season, I have to admit they make better Christmas trees than half-dead pine branches.
Most of us don't have enough space for a big pohutukawa. If you're living on a massive coastal acreage yes, but with average-size sections or an urban garden, it's a matter of finding an acceptable substitute.
So may I introduce my new best friend, the southern rata, Metrosideros umbellata. It's not exactly a dwarf, but it is slow growing (did I mention that?) and if I'd known what I was talking about a bit sooner, I'd have realised that is the case especially in the north. It's well suited to cooler, high rainfall regions but it will grow in the northern climate, enjoying fertile soil in full sun. Its flowers are wholeheartedly, exuberantly red, with yellow tips, and the leaves are small, glossy dark green.
If you can't be bothered waiting eight years for flowers, try Metrosideros Vibrance. It's a small, upright pohutukawa and good for small gardens. It seems to thrive without fuss, and fits well into fashionable subtropical gardens with its showier-than-usual red flowers and attractive foliage. If it does get a bit big for the urban garden, you can prune it hard and it'll bounce back with bushy new growth. Its ability to withstand trimming is an advantage, but if you are continually whacking it back it'll flower less.
Metrosideros Tahiti is a great choice for a smaller garden. It produces pohutukawa-style flowers at various times during the year and only grows to around 1.5m - ideal for small spaces, and even containers. The beauty of growing it in a tub is that it can be brought close to the house or even inside at Christmas time and it comes complete with its own decorations.
The foliage is soft grey-green and a bit frost tender. It likes good drainage and sunshine, and will actually do well in poor soils, including beach sand. Unlike our native pohutukawa, though, it doesn't like the wind so choose a sheltered spot or give it some protection.
Metrosideros excelsa Scarlet Pimpernel is a smaller growing pohutukawa with magenta-red flowers and a prolific flowering habit. Although it'll happily reach 4m or more, it will do quite well in a big container, so it's another good choice for limited space.
And Metrosideros carminea Red Carpet is a great variety that flowers very freely, tolerates dryness and will grow in a tub. It doesn't climb but forms a low shrub about a metre wide and 50cm high - perfect for a small city garden.

If you'd like to make suggestions, ask questions, agree, disagree, elaborate, comment or berate, please email info@gardenpress.net