Karo Red Coprosma

Karo Red Coprosma (Coprosma 'Karo Red') is grown for its foliage, not its flowers, which is why it is useful. It holds at about 1.2m tall and 1m wide, with small glossy leaves that turn deep red and bronze over green as the weather cools. In a coastal garden where salt and wind kill most colour, it keeps working.

Why you'll love it

• Colour without waiting for a flower. The leaves carry the display all year, and the red deepens through the cold months.
• Built for the coast. Salt tolerant and wind tolerant, so an exposed seaside bed or a front boundary does not scorch it.
• Drought tolerant once established. After the first two summers it gets by on very little water, which suits Mediterranean and dry temperate gardens.
• A neat, controllable size. Around 1.2m by 1m fits a low hedge, a border or a pot without constant cutting back.

Where it works best

Low hedging. Plant 60cm apart in a single row. It closes into a solid low hedge in about two seasons and clips to a crisp face.

Coastal gardens. Use it on the exposed side of a bed, in front of taller screening, where softer shrubs go ragged.

Mass planting and borders. The same 60cm spacing across a slope gives a sheet of red and green that needs no watering system.

Pots and containers. A pot 400mm across is plenty, and the small leaves resist tearing on a windy balcony.

Growing Karo Red Coprosma in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, and this matters more than anything else: the red is a sun response, and a plant in part shade stays mostly green. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean gardens, and it takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland and tableland districts will damage it.

Soil. Free draining, and not fussy beyond that. Sandy coastal soils suit it. On heavy clay, plant on a raised mound and open the bed with compost and coarse grit.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. A single dose of controlled release fertiliser in early spring is plenty, and overfeeding costs you colour.

Pruning. Trim in early spring and again in late summer to keep it dense. It shoots readily from the stems, so a leggy plant can be cut back hard and will refurnish.

What to expect when it arrives

Karo Red is grown here as tube stock: young single plants, well under knee height, with a compact root ball that travels well and suits a hedge run or a mass planting.

Expect them to look green at first. Full leaf colour develops once the plant has settled in open sun, usually through the second season, and it takes two to three years to reach the mature 1.2m frame. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare our salt tolerant coastal plants.
• Our guide for coastal gardeners covers exposure, salt and soil.
• Browse other plants grown for foliage colour.
• See more low maintenance shrubs.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a low hedge?

60cm apart in a single row, which closes into a continuous face within about two seasons.

Why has mine gone green?

Not enough direct sun. The red pigment forms in response to strong light, so a plant in shade or under a canopy reverts to green. Move it into full sun and the colour returns with the next flush.

Will it survive frost?

It takes light frost only. A touch of cold often improves the colour, but repeated heavy frosts in inland or tableland gardens will burn the foliage.

Does it flower?

Barely. Coprosma flowers are tiny and easy to miss. Everything it offers is in the leaf, which is why it looks the same in July as in January.