Pōhutukawa - New Zealand Christmas Tree

I was very lucky to find a BBC Garden of the World series on YouTube. The series is called Around the World in 80 gardens. The first episode that I watched was about South America. Did you know that in the Amazon they grow their gardens in pots on the river? I watched the episode about Indian gardens, those were just amazing. Finally, I ended with gardens of Australia and New Zealand which brings me to the topic of this blog - Pōhutukawa - New Zealand Christmas Tree. 

The brush-like blooms of pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) add brilliance to a Northland beach in summer, and signal the arrival of Christmas. Related to guavas, feijoas and eucalypts, the pōhutukawa is a familiar sight on the northern North Island coastline, which is its natural range. It was favoured by early European boat builders as the timber provides natural curves and is immune to sea worms. The trees have since been planted in coastal areas throughout the country.

This tree blooms every December (summer time ), in New Zealand . The tree grew quite large and the blossoms were beautiful. I would love to have a couple of these trees one day. I came to discover that this plant does very well in parts of California.  If you are interested in buying seeds, here is a link to a New Zealand vendor.