Pukeiti

Family: Ericaceae (Heath)

Life form: Shrub - evergreen

Comments: Habit: Compact shrub growing to 1.5 m in 10 years. 3.5 × 2.5m in 40 years.

Foliage: Attractive silver-backed leaves.

Flowers: Well-formed tight blood red umbel. Flowers early in the season.

History: a selection from arboreum subsp. arboreum. Grown to first flower by Heritage Park Rhododendron Charitable Trust pre 1985 and registered in 2010. Etymology: named for the famous mountaineer, a New Zealander, with a strong connection to Nepal from whence the seed came.

Cultivation information: Toleartes a range of conditions. Available from rhododendron nurseries in New Zealand.