One of New Zealand’s most versatile native trees, Kōhūhū combines attractive pale green foliage with distinctive near-black stems and beautifully scented dark flowers. Fast-growing, hardy, and highly tolerant of exposed conditions, it is an excellent choice for native hedging, shelterbelts, screening, restoration planting, and larger gardens.
🌱 Plant Facts
• Growth habit: Bushy evergreen shrub to small tree
• Foliage: Pale to mid-green, glossy leaves with attractive wavy margins
• Leaves: Usually around 2–4 cm long
• Stems: Distinctive dark brown to almost black young twigs
• Flowers: Small, fragrant, very dark red to purple-black flowers
• Flowering: October–November, occasionally into December
• Fruit: Capsules approximately 12 mm wide, splitting into two or three sections to reveal sticky black seeds
• Fruiting: January–March
• Height: Up to 9 m
🌍 Natural Habitat
• Coastal to montane environments
• Native shrublands
• Forest margins
• Regenerating native forest
• Successional habitats
• Naturally occurs from lowland areas to approximately 900 m elevation
🌿 Growing Environment
• Full sun to partial shade
• Frost tolerant
• Drought tolerant once established
• Wind tolerant
• Coastal tolerant
• Salt tolerant
• Free-draining soils
An exceptionally adaptable native that establishes well in exposed environments and responds particularly well to trimming, making it useful for both restoration projects and formal landscaping.
📍 Endemic Distribution
• Endemic to New Zealand
• Widespread throughout the North and South Islands
🌾 Uses
• Native bird attractant
• Bee and pollinator food
• Hedging and screening
• Shelterbelts
• Riparian plantings
• Pioneer and revegetation plantings
• Native forest restoration
• Feature tree
🪴 Cultivation Notes (Live Plant)
A hardy, fast-growing, and easy-care native that performs well across a wide range of conditions. Kōhūhū tolerates regular clipping exceptionally well and can be maintained as a dense formal or informal hedge, while untrimmed plants develop into attractive small trees. Its tolerance of wind, salt, drought, and frost makes it particularly useful for exposed gardens, lifestyle blocks, shelter planting, and restoration sites.
📏 Approximate product size:
• PB3/4 (5–20 cm, 350 ml)
• PB3 (20–70 cm, 1.5 L)
• PB8 (50 cm+, 3.5 L)
• PB18 (1 m+, 8.5 L)
• PB40 (2 m+, 18.5 L)
⏱️ Timeframe:
We ship Monday – Wednesday for South Island customers and Monday/Tuesday for Rural and North Island customers. Orders placed outside these days will be fulfilled the following week.
📦 Local pick ups and/or deliveries will be made by arrangement.
🌱 We’ll donate $1 per plant sold to national conservation efforts, helping to protect and restore New Zealand’s natural heritage.
One of New Zealand’s most versatile native trees, Kōhūhū combines attractive pale green foliage with distinctive near-black stems and beautifully scented dark flowers. Fast-growing, hardy, and highly tolerant of exposed conditions, it is an excellent choice for native hedging, shelterbelts, screening, restoration planting, and larger gardens.
🌱 Plant Facts
• Growth habit: Bushy evergreen shrub to small tree
• Foliage: Pale to mid-green, glossy leaves with attractive wavy margins
• Leaves: Usually around 2–4 cm long
• Stems: Distinctive dark brown to almost black young twigs
• Flowers: Small, fragrant, very dark red to purple-black flowers
• Flowering: October–November, occasionally into December
• Fruit: Capsules approximately 12 mm wide, splitting into two or three sections to reveal sticky black seeds
• Fruiting: January–March
• Height: Up to 9 m
🌍 Natural Habitat
• Coastal to montane environments
• Native shrublands
• Forest margins
• Regenerating native forest
• Successional habitats
• Naturally occurs from lowland areas to approximately 900 m elevation
🌿 Growing Environment
• Full sun to partial shade
• Frost tolerant
• Drought tolerant once established
• Wind tolerant
• Coastal tolerant
• Salt tolerant
• Free-draining soils
An exceptionally adaptable native that establishes well in exposed environments and responds particularly well to trimming, making it useful for both restoration projects and formal landscaping.
📍 Endemic Distribution
• Endemic to New Zealand
• Widespread throughout the North and South Islands
🌾 Uses
• Native bird attractant
• Bee and pollinator food
• Hedging and screening
• Shelterbelts
• Riparian plantings
• Pioneer and revegetation plantings
• Native forest restoration
• Feature tree
🪴 Cultivation Notes (Live Plant)
A hardy, fast-growing, and easy-care native that performs well across a wide range of conditions. Kōhūhū tolerates regular clipping exceptionally well and can be maintained as a dense formal or informal hedge, while untrimmed plants develop into attractive small trees. Its tolerance of wind, salt, drought, and frost makes it particularly useful for exposed gardens, lifestyle blocks, shelter planting, and restoration sites.
📏 Approximate product size:
• PB3/4 (5–20 cm, 350 ml)
• PB3 (20–70 cm, 1.5 L)
• PB8 (50 cm+, 3.5 L)
• PB18 (1 m+, 8.5 L)
• PB40 (2 m+, 18.5 L)
⏱️ Timeframe:
We ship Monday – Wednesday for South Island customers and Monday/Tuesday for Rural and North Island customers. Orders placed outside these days will be fulfilled the following week.
📦 Local pick ups and/or deliveries will be made by arrangement.
🌱 We’ll donate $1 per plant sold to national conservation efforts, helping to protect and restore New Zealand’s natural heritage.
