The genus Leptospermum, belonging to the Myrtaceae family, groups a large number of species. They are mainly distributed throughout SE Australia and New Zealand.
At Sala Graupera we produce 7 of these species, they are shrubs that at most can reach 2 meters high, later we will talk about their development species by species. In all of them the leaves are evergreen and small, and they flower during the winter months, with very showy small blooms.
In this first post about this genus, we will talk about three of its species.
\*Leptospermum karo \*\*\'Silver Ice' \\* is a compact shrub, which can reach 1.20 meters high by 80 centimeters wide.
Its leaves are evergreen, simple and small, of a bright green color. Its flowering is winter, starting approximately in February and ending in May; showing small white five-petaled flowers, as we see in the image.
Image of Leptospermum karo 'Silver Ice \*\*\'\; Source: www.botanicalstockphotos.com
It is a species belonging to hardiness zone number 8, with an average minimum annual temperature range of -12.2 / -6.7°C, which indicates that it is tolerant to Mediterranean climate frosts.
Its water needs are low, ideal to be planted in low water requirement gardens. It needs to be planted in full sun, although it also tolerates light shade.
It is tolerant to all types of soils, as long as they drain well.
\*Leptospermum scoparium \*\*\'Martinii' \ is a compact shrubby plant, which normally can reach 2 meters high by 1.50 wide. This is one of the largest Leptospermum\* that we have available at Viveros Sala Graupera.
Its evergreen leaves are small and simple, sharper than those of Leptospermum karo 'Silver Ice' which has them more rounded. They are dark green in color. The flowering, very showy and abundant, is composed of five petals of a pinkish / reddish color. It flowers between the months of April and June.
Image of Leptospermum scoparium 'Martinii' ; Source: © Guillem Morral
It is a species belonging to hardiness zone number 8, with an average minimum annual temperature range of -12.2 / -6.7°C. Its water needs are also low and it requires to be planted in full sun.
\*Leptospermum scoparium\*\*\ 'Mesmer Eyes'\\*® is an evergreen and compact shrub that reaches 1.50 meters high by 1 meter maximum width.
Its leaves are evergreen, small and simple of dark green color and its flowering, very abundant, is of a darker pink color than that of Leptospermum scoparium 'Martinii'. The flowers have a dark center and stamens that resemble eyelashes, this gave rise to the name 'Mesmer Eyes'. It flowers from June to August, which makes it one of the latest Leptospermum to flower.
Image of Leptospermum scoparium 'Mesmer Eyes'® ; Source: © Guillem Morral
It is a species belonging to hardiness zone number 8, with an average minimum annual temperature range of -12.2 / -6.7°C.
Its water needs are low, and it must be planted in full sun. It tolerates all types of soils, as long as they drain well.
These three Leptospermum are very suitable for low maintenance gardening, and can be used in planters and medians.
Its maintenance is very simple, since nothing more than annual pruning is needed if we want to maintain a rounded and compact habit. This pruning should be done in late summer for two reasons; first to avoid the season of maximum heat and sunshine (which would cause very high stress to the plant) and secondly to guarantee flowering the following year. If this pruning is done during winter, we will eliminate flowering for that year.
At Viveros Sala Graupera we have all these Leptospermum in 3L containers. We highly recommend their use, since during flowering they are spectacular.