Plant Library

Other Names:  Manuka, Snowflake Tea-Tree, New Zealand Tea-Tree

Description:

A stiffly, upright shrub that shows good drought tolerance; it makes a great hedge or utility plant; attractive foliage and white apple-blossom flowers with maroon centers; prune to avoid seed from spreading; flowering stems make nice cutflowers

Ornamental Features

Snow Flake Tea-Tree is covered in stunning white flowers with burgundy eyes along the branches from late winter to early spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has attractive green evergreen foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The small narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Snow Flake Tea-Tree is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Snow Flake Tea-Tree is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Snow Flake Tea-Tree will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Snow Flake Tea-Tree makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.