Re: Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' & M. villosus 'Tahiti'/Ultimate sizes?

David,
I've seen a Metrosideros collina selection reach 5
feet in 3 years or less in a San Francisco/Top of the
Hill Daly City garden. It's in semi-shade, competing
with ferocious privet-hedge roots, and has never
bloomed, but it has grown well.

At least three selections of Metrosideros polymorpha
are thriving at Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco,
one of which has been there since before the Feb 1989
freeze. We'll see after Tuesday night. They do bloom,
the two younger ones rather well, and, frankly, the
foliage is in better shape than the Daly City M.
collina.

The oldest, now about 15 feet tall and not much
distinguishable from Metrosideros kermadecensis, has
some tiny aerial roots as well.

Cheers,
Jason

--- david feix <davidfeix@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I am thinking of using these two Metrosideros shrubs
> in a coast side garden, but was somewhat doubtful of
> the listed sizes as indicated in Sunset Western
> Garden
> and San Marcos Growers Catalogue.  Is anyone
> familiar
> with older established plantings of either to know
> if
> 8' tall x wide is accurate for M. 'Springfire' and
> 3'
> x 3' for M. 'Tahiti'?  It seems they are already so
> large in 15 gallon size containers that they are
> likely to get much larger than this in the
> landscape. 
> 
> 
> I also looked them up at the Queensland, Australia
> nursery web site that was the source of introduction
> to California, (www.redlandsnursery.com.au), and
> they
> seem to agree.  (This site has some good pictures,
> as
> does San Marcos if people are curious about the
> species, which are great shrubby long bloomers for
> coastal conditions).
> 
> I am actually hoping that M. 'Springfire' does
> ultimately get more like 15 feet tall, as I imagine
> it
> might, but don't know how long that might take.  Who
> would have thought that species from Tahiti, Samoa
> and
> Hawaii would do as well in coastal California?  Can
> introductions of the Hawaiaan Ohi'a Leihua(M.
> polymorphus), which is ubiquitous as a colonizer of
> old lava flows be far behind? 
> 
> I'd appreciate hearing from anyone with direct
> experience with older plantings of these...  I am
> also
> looking forward to the first blooms on my container
> planting of the scandent shrub/clinging vine M.
> carminea, which I also wish was more available.  A
> potentially great showy flowering (tender) evergreen
> vine for coastal California; much more interesting
> than Ficus repens or Hedera helix.  
> 
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