hi: i'm a newbie here and this is my 1st ever post!

anyway, just discovered a brilliant plant called Manuka -Leptospermum scoparium which is native to New Zealand and am very interested in it's healing qualities (meant to be 30x more potent than the usual tea tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia) as it's got so much more to offer ie., the honey is used in NZ hospitals for wounds; arthritis, muscle pain etc., ) The plant looks a bit like heather but the flowers are small and pink, and grows i think, upto 8ft high, but generally shrubby-like.

i would like to know whether anyone has tried to grow this at all. i've seen a plant that i can buy online (£7.50), but i'd like to see whether i can grow it from seed first. i live in Notts and i have a (unheated) greehouse that i can borrow. my garden's semi shaded, and quite well-sheltered.

i know it's rather obscure this plant, so i'm not sure whether any of you know it!
anyway, thanx for looking
xb

The message m
from brenroamin contains
these words:

hi: i'm a newbie here and this is my 1st ever post!

anyway, just discovered a brilliant plant called Manuka -Leptospermum
scoparium which is native to New Zealand and am very interested in it's
healing qualities (meant to be 30x more potent than the usual tea tree
(Melaleuca Alternifolia) as it's got so much more to offer ie., the
honey is used in NZ hospitals for wounds; arthritis, muscle pain etc.,
) The plant looks a bit like heather but the flowers are small and
pink, and grows i think, upto 8ft high, but generally shrubby-like.

i would like to know whether anyone has tried to grow this at all. i've
seen a plant that i can buy online (£7.50), but i'd like to see whether
i can grow it from seed first. i live in Notts and i have a (unheated)
greehouse that i can borrow. my garden's semi shaded, and quite
well-sheltered.

It grows here (Arran, west Scotland) in sheltered gardens and I've
planted several in our new garden; but the climate is much milder than
Notts. So far as I know, in the UK it only grows in warm coastal areas
and I've not heard of it growing inland.

Janet.

I know this plant and love it to bits! However, it is not fully hardy so
frost is fatal, nor does it like my London clay. I've given up trying to
keep it in the garden, but it's on my wish list for pot culture next year.
I know it will survive summer in my porch, and I can now give it some winter
protection in a frost-free garden room (single-brick extension to house).

In Notts, you may get away with it in a pot, then sheltering it in the
greenhouse. You would need to raise it off the cold floor and maybe use
some fleece for extra protection. It's untimate size may prove to be a
restriction in the greenhouse.

I hope you succeed - it's a beautiful shrub.
Spider
brenroamin wrote in message
s.com...
hi: i'm a newbie here and this is my 1st ever post!

anyway, just discovered a brilliant plant called Manuka -Leptospermum
scoparium which is native to New Zealand and am very interested in it's
healing qualities (meant to be 30x more potent than the usual tea tree
(Melaleuca Alternifolia) as it's got so much more to offer ie., the
honey is used in NZ hospitals for wounds; arthritis, muscle pain etc.,
) The plant looks a bit like heather but the flowers are small and
pink, and grows i think, upto 8ft high, but generally shrubby-like.

i would like to know whether anyone has tried to grow this at all. i've
seen a plant that i can buy online (£7.50), but i'd like to see whether
i can grow it from seed first. i live in Notts and i have a (unheated)
greehouse that i can borrow. my garden's semi shaded, and quite
well-sheltered.

i know it's rather obscure this plant, so i'm not sure whether any of
you know it!
anyway, thanx for looking
xb
--
brenroamin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

"brenroamin" wrote in message
s.com...
hi: i'm a newbie here and this is my 1st ever post!

anyway, just discovered a brilliant plant called Manuka -Leptospermum
scoparium which is native to New Zealand and am very interested in it's
healing qualities (meant to be 30x more potent than the usual tea tree
(Melaleuca Alternifolia) as it's got so much more to offer ie., the
honey is used in NZ hospitals for wounds; arthritis, muscle pain etc.,
) The plant looks a bit like heather but the flowers are small and
pink, and grows i think, upto 8ft high, but generally shrubby-like.

i would like to know whether anyone has tried to grow this at all. i've
seen a plant that i can buy online (£7.50), but i'd like to see whether
i can grow it from seed first. i live in Notts and i have a (unheated)
greehouse that i can borrow. my garden's semi shaded, and quite
well-sheltered.

i know it's rather obscure this plant, so i'm not sure whether any of
you know it!
anyway, thanx for looking
xb
--
brenroamin

Gotta couple here I grew from seed in the spring. Watch this space. L. lanigerum has already survived 2 winters
here.

Rod

thanx for your useful and encouraging replies everyone. i have the intention to grow the manuka from a pot, as it'll be much easier to look after so that come the frosts i'll be able to bring it for protection.
rod: how easy was it growing the Manuka from seed (germination time etc.,) any special tips that i could follow? i read somewhere that they like acidic conditions, so ericaceous compost, then (for potting-on)??
thanx, bren

"brenroamin" wrote in message
rod: how easy was it growing the Manuka from seed (germination time
etc.,) any special tips that i could follow? i read somewhere that they
like acidic conditions, so ericaceous compost, then (for potting-on)??
thanx, bren
--
brenroamin

Can't remember in detail - it was one of several dozen things I bought and sowed in Spring under fairly standard
conditions that suit a wide range of plants. Some I had in propagator and others the trays covered in clingfilm on
greenhouse bench - shaded as required. I did have many more germinated than the 2 I now have but that was not the
result of the plants being difficult, it's just as we get busy in summer some things don't get the attention they
should get. I'm going to try wintering them in a cold greenhouse - on the dry side, probably with some protection
around the pots.

Rod