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Leptospermum scoparium 'Burgundy Queen' (New Zealand Tea Tree) - This is an upright, dense growing (to 12 feet tall and about 10 feet wide) evergreen shrub with dark burgundy double flowers that appear in a very strong flush in the spring as well as in the fall. It has tiny needle-like green leaves often tinged with burgundy (especially during cold temperatures).
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 'Burgundy Queen' is reported be from the nursery of E. F. Jenkin & Sons in Cranbourne South, Victoria, Australia, though the original parentage is from plants of New Zealand origin. The Jenkin's nursery was considered to be the single greatest producer of new Leptospermum cultivars after E. F. Jenkin began seedling selection in the mid-1960s, using open-pollinated seed from an older variety called Leptospermum 'Album Flore-pleno'.
The information displayed on this page about Leptospermum scoparium 'Burgundy Queen' 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.
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