Wikstroemia indica -Bootlace bark or Tie bush

This small twiggy little shrub is one of my favourite plants. There seem to be two different forms – one is coastal and the other grows on rainforest margins and moist eucalypt forests. The form I grow is the coastal one. It has small greenish-yellow tubular flowers and round, bright red fruits. The leaves are oval-shaped, dark green above and bluish green below. The fibrous bark can be pulled off in long strips, giving the plant its common name.

Grows to 1.5 metres tall but generally smaller in cultivation. It grows in sun or shade and is tough enough to withstand periods of dryness. With regular pruning it can be trained into a decorative low evergreen hedge.

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