Botanical name:

Hebe epacridea

Common name(s):

Hebe

About:

A sprawling plant that grows only a few centimetres high but can spread out to an impressive width of up to 40 cm across. It features very small, oblong, and rigid leaves that can range in colour from a light to a dark green hue, along with charming small white flowers that add a delicate touch. This plant is typically found in the drier high alpine areas located to the east of the main divide, stretching from the Nelson-Marlborough region all the way down to Otago. It thrives best in free-draining gritty soil, ideally in a sunny location. This species is particularly well-suited for use in a rock garden or within an alpine house, where it can truly flourish.

Natural habitat:

Open alpine areas on rock debris or scree. Together with Hebe birleyi and Ranunculus grahamii, it grows al the highest altitudes known for any vascular plant in New Zealand , approximately 2900m in the Malte Brun Range, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

Growing environment:

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

Endemic distribution:

New Zealand’s South Island mountains, chiefly on or east of the Main Divide, from the Devil Range, North-West Nelson, to the Eyre and Livingstone Mountains, Southland.

Height: 10cm

Flowering:
December - February (-April) with a white coloured flowers.

Fruiting:

December - April (-September)

Uses:

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

How to grow:

Easily grown from fresh seed or semi hardwood cuttings.

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