|
Leptospermum scoparium 'Apple Blossom' (New Zealand Tea Tree) - An upright growing evergreen shrub to 8 feet tall and wide with narrow small needle-like green leaves that are sometimes tinged with pink, especially during winter. This variety has pale pink buds that open to show the double light-pink flowers in a very strong flush in early spring and often as well as in the fall and flowers age to pure white. This variety is noted a being one of the earliest to flower and remains in bloom over a long period of time.
Plant in full sun to part sun in a well-draining soil where it is drought tolerant once established and cold hardy down to about 20 degrees F. Leptospermum scoparium cultivars are unforgiving to drying out so make sure to irrigate young plants to get them established before backing off watering. These plants are beautiful in the garden and make good cut flowers when large branches are cut.
Leptospermum scoparium is found throughout New Zealand and particularly common on the drier east coasts of the North and South Islands, and in Australia in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. Fossil evidence suggests Leptospermum scoparium originated in Australia and migrated to New Zealand via long-distance seed dispersal long ago. The genus name is derived from the Greek words 'leptos' meaning “thin”, “fine” or “slender” and 'sperma' meaning “seed”, referring to the thin brown seeds of the genus and the specific epithet is an adjective meaning "broom-like" or "pertaining to a broom" that is derived from the Latin word 'scopa', the word for a broom or brush made of twigs and is in reference to this species typical upright twiggy or broom-like structure. Most of the showy cultivated selections are of New Zealand origin. Of the cultivars we have grown, only Leptospermum scoparium 'Star Carpet' is of Australian origin.
Leptospermum scoparium 'Apple Blossom' (sometimes listed as 'Appleblossom' or just 'Blossom') might be associated with New Zealand plant hybridizer Jack Hobbs. Hobbs was the longtime curator of the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens in New Zealand who had worked there for 37 years when he retired in 2025. He had introduced several Leptospermum hybrids, usually with the identifying prefix "Wiri" to indicate the plant part of the Auckland gardens program. Another early breeder of these plants was E. F. Jenkin of Cranbourne South, Victoria, Australia and he is credited with a cultivar from the 1960s named 'Blossom' that may be this same plant. Under the name 'Appleblossom' this cultivar became very popular in England where it won the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in 2012. We grew this plant using the name 'Apple Blossom' from 1985 until 2012.
The information displayed on this page about Leptospermum scoparium 'Apple Blossom' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
|
