# Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium)

> A hardy shrub or small tree to about 5 m with small prickly aromatic leaves and white to pink flowers almost year round. It is the pioneer species of New Zealand restoration, planted by the million as a nurse crop that shelters slower natives, stabilises eroding hill country and feeds bees that make the famous mānuka honey. Lives a few decades then gives way to taller forest.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/leptospermum-scoparium · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Manuka, Tea tree, Kahikātoa
- Family: Myrtaceae
- Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Mature height: 4 m; spread 3 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 60 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 9 to 10
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Almost any soil from swamp to dry clay and stony hillsides; very tolerant of poor ground
- Native range: Native to New Zealand (all three main islands and the Chathams) and south-east Australia (Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales).

**Benefits:** Pollinators, Holds soil, Drought tolerant, Flowers, Fast canopy, Wildlife, Fits small spaces

**Good for:** Reforestation, Hedgerow, Small yard, Streambanks, Screening

**Watch out for:** Short lived

## Care

Plant at close spacing in full sun; needs no watering after the first summer and resents rich, wet soil. No pruning required; it does not resprout from old wood. Myrtle rust (found in NZ since 2017) is the main disease threat; mānuka blight (scale insect and sooty mould) weakens plants in some districts. Unpalatable to stock.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** NSW, Australia; TAS, Australia; VIC, Australia; New Zealand (Not Threatened (2023))
- **Adapted:** United Kingdom (Garden plant; introduced per WCVP); HI, United States (Introduced per WCVP)

## Sources

- https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/leptospermum-scoparium-var-scoparium/
- https://toolkit.tanestrees.org.nz/growth-yield-calculator/species-information/
- https://www.gbif.org/species/3181762
- https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=282856