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Our beautiful red and crimson Pohutukawa are putting on a magnificent display across the Coast, but after reading about yellow Pohutukawa, Hibiscus Matters headed up to Shakespear Regional Park to see if we could spot their more elusive cousins.
These hybrids bloom earlier in the year and unfortunately, the ones we found on the foreshore at Te Haruhi Bay had been battered by the recent wind and rain. However we found a peach Pohutukawa sheltered from the breeze up near Shakespeare Lodge.
The yellow variant, Metrosideros excelsa ‘Aurea’, came from Motiti Island off the Bay of Plenty and apparently was brought to the mainland through the efforts of a nursery owner, Sir Victor Davies, in the 1940s.
Some reports say it rarely flowers, however the park rangers at Shakespear say it flowers yearly, but earlier in the season. If you have the chance, pop up to Shakespear Regional park to see if any are still in bloom, otherwise you’ll have to wait until next year.
However, the red and crimson varieties are still putting on a beautiful show as our national Christmas tree.
