Acaena novae-zelandiae (red bidibid)
Acaena novae zelandiae is a fast growing mat forming perennial often used as groundcover or in rockeries. The grey-green to deep green pinnate leaves are made up of many small leaflets with toothed margins, these form a low dense mat with a soft dense appearance.
Habitat: Found in lowland and subalpine grasslands and open spaces.
Flowering: September - February
Fruiting: November -
Apodasmia similis (oioi, joint rush)
An attractive wetland reed with fine grey-green leaves and brownish bracts at the joints. Popular structural landscaping plant. A great option for mass planting on wet or coastal sites, growing in extremes of wind and salt.
Habitat: Mostly coastal in estuaries, saltmarshes, dunes and sandy flats and hollows. Occasionally inland in gumland scrub, along lake margins, fringing peat bogs or surrounding hot springs.
Flowering: October - December
Fruiting: December - March
Coprosma acerosa (sand coprosma)
Coprosma acerosa is a groundcover that is found naturally near the coast throughout New Zealand. The small needle-like deep green leaves clothe the intertangling branches that form springy mounds with a spread of up to 1m. When plants of both sexes are present, attractive smoky blue berries follow the tiny flowers. This is an excellent plant for coastal areas and hot dry conditions.
Habitat: Coastal sand dunes.
Flowering: August to September
Fruiting: February to May [Berries: White]
Disphyma australe [Out of Stock]
Disphyma australe is a trailing, succulent herb native to New Zealand. It is a coastal plant and is rarely found inland. Its usual habitat is coastal cliff faces and rocks, salt meadows, estuaries and some time behind sandy beaches.
Habitat: Coastal (rarely inland). Mostly on cliff faces, rock stacks, and boulder/cobble beaches, more rarely in saltmarsh and estuaries. Often in petrel scrub on offshore islands, and extending into coastal forest around petrel burrows.
Flowering: Present throughout the year
Fruiting: Present throughout the year
Festuca novae-zelandiae (hard tussock)
A fine-leaved tawny tussock, upright in habit. A common component of low tussock grasslands on dry, windy and cold plains in Canterbury & Otago. Tolerates poor soil and dry conditions.
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Juncus edgariae (wiwi, tussock rush)
A common rush of swampy areas throughout New Zealand. Grows in tight clumps with bright-green stems. Useful for wet areas and revegetation of wetlands, but will tolerate dry conditions for short periods.
Habitat: Easily the most common indigenous species. Coastal to alpine (1600 m a.s.l.) but mainly coastal to montane. Usually in open shrubland, fringing wetlands, and in seasonally damp sites. Often found invading pasture and in urban areas.
Flowering: October - December
Fruiting: November - April
Leptinella dioica (shore cotula)
A vigorous creeping NZ native groundcover with fine ferny green coloured foliage - larger leaf than platts black. Wonderful as an underplanting, in containers or growing among rocks in the garden. Full sun needed to maintain foliage colour.
Habitat: Coastal and inland up to 1000 m a.s.l.. In the northern part of its range usually on the margins of saltmarshes but further south extending well inland in seepages and permanently open, damp turfs.
Flowering: August - January
Fruiting: October - June
Libertia peregrinans (mikoikoi, NZ Iris)
This iris has stiff golden coloured leaves. The flowers are pure white and are held on stems amongst the leaves. Spreads by means of underground runners, forming large clumps.
Habitat: A primarily coastal or lowland species of sandy, peaty or pumiceous soils. It may be found growing in dune slacks and swales, on the margins of swamps, in open poorly draining ground under scrub.
Flowering: October - January
Fruiting: January - February
Muehlenbeckia astonii (shrub pohuehue)
A coastal divaricating shrub with a wiry interlacing habit. Small, bright-green heart-shaped leaves. This plant is extremely hardy, tolerating dry conditions and wind. Popular landscaping plant, providing great contrast.
Habitat: Coastal to lowland. This species is associated with “grey” scrub communities, largely confined to drier lowland parts of eastern New Zealand. It is found on moderate to high fertility soils. The plant is often found in association with Coprosma crassifolia, Coprosma propinqua, Muehlenbeckia complexa, Discaria toumatou, Olearia solandri and Ozothamnus leptophyllus.
Flowering: August - January
Fruiting: October - June
Muehlenbeckia axillaris (creeping pohuehue)
A dense ground-cover with wiry stems and small dark-green leaves. Flowers prolifically in summer with masses of small creamy flowers. Prefers full sun. Tolerant of hot, dry conditions.
Habitat: Found in subalpine rocky places, riverbeds and and grasslands.
Flowering: November - April
Fruiting: December -
Muehlenbeckia complexa (scrambling pohuehue)
It is quite vigorous and probably the best species for trimming and topiary. It is semi-deciduous growing to 4m or more up suitable supports, and produces swollen white berries with black seeds. Leaves turn bronzy before dropping in late fall/early winter. Any reasonably well drained soil will suit this agreeable groundcover, and drought, salt spray, and wind are all tolerated with good grace.
Habitat: Found along rocky coasts as well as inland in coastal and montane forests.
Flowering: October to June
Fruiting: July - September [Berries: White]
Ozothamnus leptophyllus (tauhinu, cottonwood)
Bushy shrub with small silver green leaves with fine silver hair beneath. The stems silver/white in colour. It has an attractive silver-grey appearance and from July to August it flowers in profusion with clusters of tiny cream daisy (wheel-shaped) flowers followed by down-covered seed heads.
Habitat: Found in coastal areas.
Flowering: November - January
Fruiting:
Phormium cookianum (wharariki, mountain flax)
A superb species, one of the hardiest and the most striking. Long arching green leaves all year round, and 2 metre long flower stalks over summer - particularly attractive to native birds. Use as a 'groundbreaker' in new gardens, en masse on banks. Foliage and flowers are great for floral artwork.
Habitat: Strictly confined to subalpine, alpine situations.
Flowering: October to December
Fruiting: January to March
Phormium tenax (harakeke, swamp flax)
One of the oldest plant species in New Zealand and it is unique to New Zealand. With its sword-shaped leaves it is a common feature of the New Zealand landscape. It grows up to 2 -3 metres high and its flower stalks can reach up to 4 metres. The flowers are brownish red in Summer, followed by black seed pods that stand upright from the stems. It is very hardy and fast growing with wide environmental tolerances. It will grow in dry and wet conditions, withstand strong and coastal winds and are frost hardy. It is used for hedging or shelter and in mixed native planting. It is also a pioneer plant meaning it should be one of the species planted first in a restoration planting plan as it establishes quickly when planted and shelters other plants.
Habitat: Common from lowland and coastal areas to montane forest, usually but not exclusively, in wetlands and in open ground along riversides.
Flowering: October to December
Fruiting: January to March
Pimelea prostrata (pinatoro, NZ daphne)
This NZ native groundcover is an attractive low growing plant with white flowers. It flowers prolifically over the summer months and is followed by small clear, white berries. The outstanding blue green foliage is a stand out with this groundcover. Is best grown in a free-draining soil in a full sun position. Excellent for sunny banks or rockeries.
Habitat: Coastal to montane. In open sites, such as coastal gravel, sand dunes, grasslands and mudstone cliffs.
Flowering: September - May
Fruiting: June - August [Fruit: White]
Plagianthus divaricatus (Salt marsh ribbonwood) [Out of Stock]
Dense twiggy shrub, small narrow leaves. Small sweetly scented flowers. Good hedging, deciduous, cold hardy. Will tolerate salt winds and wet soils.
Habitat: Found alongside salty swamps or damp gravelly places in coastal regions.
Flowering: September to November
Fruiting: December to March
Poa cita (wiwi, silver tussock)
Densely tufted tussock of a graceful habit. Fine shiny silvery-green erect foliage with a flowing habit. Slender flowering stem, tawny colured. Best in poor dry soils in an open situation. Great for exposed windy sites.
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Raoulia hookeri (golden scabweed)
Small, mat-forming evergreen perennial with tiny, rosettes of silver, spoon-shaped leaves. Excellent in the rock garden.
Habitat: Dense mat forming plants found covering stone-strewn dry river and stream beds. Found in alpine dry rocky places and screes.
Flowering: December to January
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