Coprosma Varieties

The Mirror Bush

One of the many very useful landscaping plants from New Zealand is Coprosma repens.

The foliage is glossy which gives it the common name of Mirror Bush, rounded to oval shape, dense and the best colour is in winter.

This is a plant that gives good foliage colour in winter, foliage comes in many colours. Most are small evergreen shrubs, and all are easy care.

The botanical name is Coprosma repens, however it is the many cultivars that offer gardeners the best foliage colour. With names like Inferno, Rainbow Surprise, Evening Glow and Lemon and Lime you get an idea of the variety of foliage colours available.

How to grow Coprosma repens

Coprosma repens is well suited to a range of soil conditions, and will grow in sandy coastal soils. It does require good drainage and performs best in full sun.

Best planted in early spring or late summer.
Dig the soil over well, add some well rotted compost and make sure the area is weed free.
Give the new plant appropriate space, it will spread to around 1m over time.
Plant at the same depth is was in the container.
Water in with a liquid seaweed fertiliser.
Water through the first summer.
Fertilise with a general all purpose slow release fertiliser.
Mulch around the plant to prevent weeds and retain a cool root run.

Landscaping Uses

You can use these wonderful shrubs as feature foliage plats in the border, or even mass plant them. Generally reaching around 1.5m in height these are a resilient shrub that grow well in adverse conditions including coastal areas.

Suited to growing in pots and containers as well as for mass planting as a low maintenance ground cover plant it can also be used as a low, informal hedging plant.

Pruning Coprosma repens

These are a fairly tidy, naturally bushy plant, and with small foliage they do take well to pruning. You can use many varieties to form a low hedge that will require pruning only once a year.

You can prune them with secateurs or even hedging shears. Best time to prune is in late winter, before new growth begins in spring however they can be pruned to shape in summer as well without many problems.

Here we are looking at Coprosma repens cultivars. With so many available we have picked a few of the best varieties that are readily available for sale.

Inferno – Green and orange in summer turning to reds and pink in winter.
Rainbow Surprise – Cream and green in summer to pink in winter.
Evening Glow – Orange, red and green becoming more intense in winter
Lemon and Lime – Lime green with yellow in summer, deeper yellows in winter.
Pacific Sunset – One of the best red varieties – Mid red foliage margined with a deeper red.
Pacific Sunset – Brilliant red and pink foliage.
Tequila Sunrise – Foliage is deep green in the centre, to lime green and then margined with red.

Most cultivars grow well in all but the coldest areas.

Summary information

Common Name – Mirror Plant
Height – From 1 – 1.5m
Spread – To around 1m
Position – Full Sun
Soil – Well drained
Salt tolerance – Good
Frost tolerance – Very low, best in frost free areas.
Fertiliser – General purpose slow release once a year.
Pruning – Prune lightly to shape at the end of winter to early spring.
Water requirements – Drought tolerant once established, however will perform better if water during dry summers.