Tea Tree

Tea Tree 'Copper Glow' (Leptospermum 'Copper Glow') is a native shrub grown as much for its foliage as its flowers. It settles at about 2.5m tall and 2m wide, carrying fine bronze and copper toned leaves that hold their colour all year, then a wash of white blossom in spring. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and salt tolerant, it holds up where softer hedging plants sulk.

Why you'll love it

• Coloured foliage, not just green. New growth runs bronze to copper and stays that way, so the hedge has depth even with no flowers open.
• A hedge you can reach. At 2.5m by 2m it covers a standard fence line without ladders or an annual fight to bring it back down.
• Native, and the wildlife knows it. White spring flowers pull in bees, butterflies and small nectar feeding birds.
• Genuinely low maintenance. Once established it wants little more than one trim a year and a feed, and it copes with dry spells on its own.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense screen. The fine leaf means it reads as a soft green wall rather than a hard clipped block, which suits an informal boundary.

Coastal gardens. Salt tolerance makes it a sensible choice for front boundaries within sight of the water, where salt laden wind burns many shrubs.

Feature planting. Single plants shape into a loose mound, and the copper tone reads well against rendered walls.

Growing Tea Tree 'Copper Glow' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the strongest foliage colour and the densest habit. It suits subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens, and takes frost once established. It is not the pick for the wet tropics, where constant humidity thins the growth.

Soil. Free draining and on the acidic side is ideal. Tea trees will not sit in wet ground, so on clay plant on a raised mound with compost through the bed and mulch 75mm deep, kept off the stem.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper as the roots go down. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser after flowering. Standard garden fertiliser can burn the roots.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density, then trim straight after flowering. Stay in leafy growth: like most tea trees, it is slow to reshoot from bare old wood.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: tube, 140mm in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six and 250mm in packs of three. Tube and 140mm plants are young and single stemmed, and they are the sensible buy for a long hedge because they establish quickly. The 200mm and 250mm plants arrive already branched and put you a season ahead.

Plants are packed to travel upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Expect a quiet fortnight, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the full leptospermum care guide.
• Compare options in our Australian native shrubs range.
• See other salt tolerant plants for coastal gardens.
• Weigh it against the wider hedging and screening options.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. Closer planting does not close the gap sooner and makes watering harder as the roots compete.

How fast does it grow?

Moderate, around 30 to 50cm a year in a warm garden with water and feed. Slower through the first year and in cool temperate gardens.

Can I keep it lower than 2.5m?

Yes. One trim a year straight after flowering holds it at 1.5m to 2m. Keep each cut within leafy growth rather than into bare wood.

Will it handle frost?

It is frost hardy once the root system is away, usually after the first full growing season. Young plants in cold districts want a sheltered spot for their first winter.