How to grow Kowhai

Sophora microphylla

Kowhai can be grown from seed or tip cuttings in spring and autumn.

Growing Kowhai from seed

Easy from seed, provided the hard seed shell is nicked first with a knife or rubbed with sandpaper to expose the endosperm. Soaking seed treated this way overnight often helps speed up germination.1

Transplanting Kowhai

Young Kowhai are quite frost tender, so cuttings or seedlings should be planted in their second year when they are 30 cm or higher.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Kowhai is a hardy plant.

How long does Kowhai take to grow?

These estimates for how long Kowhai takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

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Kowhai Etymology

Kowhai is pronounced Koofuy, with the double o as in “foot”.

Kowhai Folklore & Trivia

Maori, who are the indigenous people of New Zealand, in earlier times used the bark of the kowhai for medicinal purposes, mainly heated and used as a poultice.
Kowhai is widely acknowledged by New Zealanders as their national flower.

Other names for Kowhai

South Island Kowhai, Golden Kowhai

Footnotes

1 New Zealand A to Z entry on Kowhai


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