Re: "It" trees/Metrosideros excelsa and other species

Metrosideros excelsa may be a great tree right along
the coast, but it has no freeze tolerance, and even in
San Francisco, many were badly damaged in the freeze
of 1990.  At 24F, one year old 15 gallon trees were
killed outright.  This is a tree that is best where it
doesn't freeze regularly, and has heavy coastal
influence.  All of the older trees here in Berkeley
were killed back to 6 inch diameter trunks, but
eventually did come back similar to Ficus microcarpa. 
I also find the aerial roots somewhat sinister
looking, check out the very large specimen adjacent to
the newly renovated Australian section at Strybing
Arboretum in San Francisco, the aerial roots are
massive and nearly to the ground.

Also, the tree is very densely canopied, and gives
heavy shade over time, so it is not an easy tree to
garden under.  They can be thinned out to open up the
canopy, by they don't grow this way naturally, and it
needs constant effort to keep this appearance. 
Perhaps best used as a street tree or wind screen, for
which it is well suited.

I find some of the newer large shrub/small tree
Metrosideros introductions more easily used in
landscapes, and love the virtually everblooming M.
collina 'Springfire', which grows to be an 8 to 12
foot tall shrub, with the same gray green fuzzy
foliage, and almost constant sprays of the same bright
red flowers.  As this comes from the South Pacific, it
is no more hardy than M. excelsa, but handles cool
coastal conditions and constant winds very well, and
has handled light freezes(above 28F), with only light
foliage burn.

I also really love the vining M. carminea, which is
also tender, and clings to walls and simply covers
itself with massive displays of red in very late
winter/early spring.  Foliage is similar to juvenile
leaves on Ficus repens, and quite attractive for a
bright shade or morning sun location, but not easily
found here in nurseries.  Cuttings taken from mature
plants can be grown as a small shrub, which will
exhibit an arching habit and is charming in
containers.
Unfortunately, here in my Berkeley garden, it also
gets thrips regularly...



		
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