Re: Metrosideros with golden new growth?

Jason D wrote:
> 
> I'm convinced most of the ones grown around San
> Francisco as street trees are M. kermadecensis or X
> kermadecensis. The leaves are much shorter and rounder
> than M. excelsa, and the flowering occurs rather
> sporadically from late fall through to midsummer. We
> have a bit of variety, however, with some trees quite
> distinctly M. excelsa, and subtly different color
> forms; the yellow is rather too subtle, I think, but
> there are less and more vibrant reds and red-oranges.


Hi Jason

As I don't grow one myself I don't really know all that much detail
about the Pohutukawam (M excelsa), but spurred on by your remarks I did
look up my encyclopdia of NZ native plants and chanced on the remark
that there is controversy about letting M kermadecensis be grown here
exactly because of its tendency to hybridize with the native species.
The glory of the Pohutukawa and its status as a national ikon depends so
much on its ability to produce one tremendous burst of flower in summer
and, as you surmise, in the crosses the more diffuse flowering habit of
M kermadecencis seems to predominate.

I also picked up on your remark in another posting on finding plants of
Metrosideros growing as epiphytes and these must have been either pure M
robusta (Northern Rata) or just maybe a robusta cross, as no other
Metrosideros it seems starts life in this way (Certainly not M,
excelsa). Very occasionally, where for instance the bush has been felled
and there are no large hosts available, this species may start life in
the ground. I have once seen this adjacent an area where lots of old
large trees still occur. We saw at least a couple of young trees in the
ground and flowering at about 8ft high.

It may normally start life as an apparently innocent epiphyte  but
eventually after many years such a Rata attains maturity by completely
surrounding its host with a cage of strong trunks (which started of as
descending vines before rooting into the ground) and smothers it. After
a long time  (hundreds of years maybe) one sees a handsome tall Rata
tree (and they are indeed magnificent trees, even taller than M.
excelsa) with what seems like a solid continuous trunk, but nearly
always a cavity remains in its heart where the host plants once existed.
The only other species I know of who grow in this way are the
"parasitic" figs which live around the old world tropics.

The Northern Rata is slightly more hardy than the Pohutukawa and a
common tree in the local bush here and even further south, though the
predomiant form in the South Island is M.umbellata (Southern Rata), a
non-epiphytic form which prefers cooler conditions. Both these Ratas
seem to follow the blooming pattern of the Pohutukawa with the one
concentrated burst of flower some time in summer. I begin to think that
this habit must be related to living in a climate with a distinct
winter, while M kermadecensis comes from an island group which is
sub-tropical and does not have to cope at all with cold weather, and so
can be active at any time of year.

On the subject of the flowers though, I was surprised to hear you
talking of M.robusta as having _dark_ red blooms as the local form all
round the Wellington district at least, is a light red with a slight
orange cast. It is very eye-catching and a big tree in bloom can stand
up over the rest of the bush like  a beacon.

All my acquaintance with this species is with wild trees. While this
species is sometimes grown in gardens in NZ it is said to be slow to
flower and so not so popular as its cousin. It should though be hardy in
colder sites than M.excelsa.

Besides all these trees, NZ Metrosideros include a number of climbers
(mostly small and not strangling) the majority of which have
insignificant white flowers, but one rather(naturally) scarce species is
eminently garden-worthy, at least in the warmer parts as it is rather
tender.  This is M. carmina which produces a mass of gorgeous red
flowers in spring. If propagated from adult plants, rather like what one
can sometimes do from ivy, one can get a shrubby form which can be grown
in containers in the frosty areas.

 
I've never seen the > few M. umbellata here bloom showily, but they're
quite
> small.

Perhaps your climate is a bit too warm for these. They don't even like
our North Island much, but are said to be spectacular in parts of the
South.

Moira
> >
> > --
> > Tony & Moira Ryan,
> > Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our
> > garden at:-
> >
> http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
> >

-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
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