Botanical name:

Hebe dieffenbachi

Common name(s):

Dieffenbach’s koromiko

About:

This particular hebe species is found exclusively on the Chatham Islands. It is characterised by its low-growing, spreading form, making it an excellent choice for ground-cover applications or for gracefully trailing over walls. The foliage consists of attractive pale green leaves, which provide a lovely backdrop for the stunning racemes of flowers. These flowers, which range in colour from white to a soft pale mauve, are beautifully displayed during the summer months, adding a delightful visual interest to any garden or landscape in which the hebe is planted.

Natural habitat:

Mostly coastal where it usually grows in mixed shrub-land and along forest margins. Also on limestone outcrops on the coast or inland, and it is a feature of the limestone cliffs lining Te Whanga lagoon. Rarely in coastal forest, where it often grows near petrel burrows.

Growing environment:

Frost, Sun, Drought, Salt, Wind, Coastal & Free draining tolerant.

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand: Chatham Islands (Chatham, Pitt, Mangere, South East Islands).

Height: 1m

Flowering:

December – May with a white, violet/purple coloured flowers

Fruiting:

January – December

Uses:

Bird food / Attractant, Bee food, Riparian plantings, Pioneer Plantings, Ground cover & Flowers.

How to grow:

Easily grown from cuttings and fresh seed. An attractive shrub which makes an excellent hedge and is ideal for coastal situations. Somewhat frost sensitive. Some forms sold as this species with dark mauve flowers or flowers tinged with mauve are hybrids with H. chathamica.

** Seed germinates without pre treatment. Sow seeds direct & keep moist until germination is complete.