Metrosideros ‘Little Ewan’

Metrosideros 'Little Ewan' (Metrosideros collina hybrid) is a compact New Zealand Christmas bush that settles at about 2.5m tall and 2m wide, with crimson bottlebrush flowers over dark leathery foliage. It grows slowly, which is what you want in a clipped hedge or a large pot: the shape you set is the shape it holds. Salt, wind and coastal exposure do not trouble it.

Why you'll love it

• Slow growth means less work. One trim a year holds a hedge in shape, where a fast grower would need three.
• Crimson flowers in summer. Dense red brushes over glossy dark leaves, worked steadily by nectar feeding birds.
• Built for the coast. Salt and wind tolerant, so a front hedge facing the beach stays clean rather than burning off.
• A genuinely good pot plant. Slow and dense enough to live in a large container for years.
• Low maintenance once away. Drought tolerant after establishment, with no spray routine and no staking.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense hedge. At 2.5m it screens a fence line and a ground floor window without shading the garden.

Coastal gardens. This is the plant for the exposed side of a coastal block, where salt spray and wind rule out softer hedging shrubs.

Pots and courtyards. A pot 500mm or wider suits it, and container growing holds it nearer 1.5m to 2m. A matched pair at a doorway works well.

Growing Metrosideros 'Little Ewan' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering; part shade works at the cost of density. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so cool temperate and cold inland gardens are outside its range unless it lives in a pot that can shelter over winter.

Soil. It wants free draining ground and is not fussy beyond that. On heavy clay, raise the bed and work compost and coarse sand through the backfill. Mulch 75mm deep, kept off the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper back as roots go down. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring and again in late summer keeps the foliage dark.

Pruning. Trim straight after flowering, since next season's buds form on growth made through autumn. It reshoots from older wood, so a leggy plant can be brought back.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is grown and sold as tube stock. Tubes are young single stemmed plants, usually well under knee height, and given the slow growth rate you should plan on three to four years to a closed 1.5m hedge. The upside is price: a full hedge line at tube stock cost is a fraction of the same run in advanced pots.

Tube stock travels well because the root ball is small and firm. Plant it out or pot it up within a week of arrival, water daily for the first fortnight, then move to a deep soak twice weekly. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to create a great hedge and keep it sharp
• Compare hedging and screening plants
• Plants for coastal gardens
• Shrubs that live happily in pots

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. Because it is slow, tighter spacing is tempting, but 1m still closes properly and leaves each plant enough root space to stay dense at the base.

How quickly does it grow?

Slowly, by design. Expect roughly 20 to 30cm a year in a warm garden with water and feed, less in cooler or drier conditions. That is the trade for a hedge that holds its shape between trims.

Will it cope with frost?

Light frost only. In cool temperate and cold inland gardens it needs a sheltered warm position or a pot that can move under cover. Protect young plants through their first two winters.