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Leptospermum scoparium 'Red Ensign' (New Zealand Tea Tree) - This is an upright, dense evergreen shrub to around 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide with narrow small needle-like green leaves that are sometimes tinged with pink, especially during winter and deep rich-red blooms with a dark center that appear in a very strong flush in the spring as well as in the fall.
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. 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.
Fossil evidence suggests Leptospermum scoparium originated in Australia and migrated to New Zealand via long-distance seed dispersal long ago and most of the showy cultivated selections being of New Zealand origin. Of the cultivars we have grown, only Leptospermum scoparium 'Star Carpet' is of Australian origin.
The origin of Leptospermum scoparium 'Red Ensign' is unclear but it is speculated that it was a renaming of and older variety called Leptospermum scoparium 'Nichollsii Improved' that was introduced by Duncan & Davies Nursery in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1925. The original Leptospermum scoparium 'Nichollsii' was a plant the progenitor of many of the double flowering cultivars.
The information displayed on this page about Leptospermum scoparium 'Red Ensign' 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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