Leptospermum scoparium Crimson Glory - Tea-tree

Leptospermum scoparium Crimson Glory offers the reddest flowering of all the New Zealand tea tree varieties. In late spring or early summer it blooms in a multitude of small double flowers, of a pinkish hue leaning towards crimson, that almost cover the entirety of the branches. Its dense green foliage will take on a brown hue in autumn. This is an attractive evergreen bush that thrives in coastal gardens, even in soils that are poor, acidic, or dry in summer. Leptospermum are frost-sensitive but they accept pot cultivation very well, which allows continental gardeners to enjoy their generous flowering throughout the season.

Originating from the far southeast of Australia and New Zealand, the Leptospermum scoparium, also known under the English name Tea-tree, is a cousin of the Mediterranean myrtles, cloves and Eucalyptus. It belongs to the same family, the Myrtaceae, and shares with these plants a love of heat but also foliage that is rich in essential oil. It grows naturally in regions with a mild oceanic climate, but also in dry forests, most often on mineral-poor, leached, rather acidic soil, and forms a large bush 3 m (10 ft) in height and spread.

The cultivar 'Crimson Glory' has a bushy but rather narrow habit, with upward pointing branches. Its growth is quite rapid; the bush will reach about 1.50 m (5 ft) in height and 90 cm (35 in) in spread, sometimes more under very favourable conditions. It has very thin slightly aromatic leaves, alternate, single, pointed, small, not exceeding one centimetre in length, dark green in colour, which take on bronze to brown tints under the effect of cold. The flowers, well double, slightly fragrant, honey- and nectar-producing, appear from May to July, depending on the climate. They are compound, with numerous petals surrounding a dark heart, and do not exceed 1.5 cm (0.6 in) in diameter. They are followed by small capsules releasing fine elongated seeds. This bush can be pruned lightly after flowering.

The 'Crimson Glory' tea tree tolerates a negative temperature down to -6/-7°C (21.2/19.4 °F) at the extreme once mature, but the aerial parts can be damaged from -4°C. It needs a sheltered spot, protected from scorching sun. It tolerates sea spray well, making it a very beautiful bush for seaside gardens. While it prefers neutral to acidic soils, it also tolerates slightly chalky soils, according to some experts, provided they are light, loamy and properly drained. Install the tea tree in a bed, in combination with e.g. evergreen ceanothuses, Grevillea or mimosa. It can also be used in an evergreen hedge along with myrtles, callistemons and other white or pink Leptospermum. In regions with cold winters it should be grown in a large pot and kept frost-free throughout the winter, like a citrus fruit.