New Zealand Tea Tree ‘Ruby Glow’ (Leptospermum scoparium)

Ruby red flowers smother the stiff stems, looking like an artistic dried arrangement. Plus, the aromatic foliage makes this winter to spring bloomer a prize. However, beauty alone did not make ‘Ruby Glow’ popular. It was its medicinal properties used to prevent scurvy that Captain Cook discovered by boiling the foliage for his sailors to drink. That’s where the common name of New Zealand Tea Tree comes from. ‘Ruby Glow’ is best grown in an acidic potting medium (peat moss and perlite mixture) with low levels of fertilizer. Prune no later than August for best flowering. It’s also a great plant to train into a standard.