A LITTLE MORE LIFE
ʻŌhiʻa lehua
Metrosideros polymorpha
Native ʻōhiʻa flowers supply nectar to Hawaiian birds where those birds occur.
MAKE IT FEEL AT HOME
A spot to thrive.
Choose locally propagated stock suited to your elevation and rainfall; avoid root-bound plants and provide excellent drainage.
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry soil / Average moisture
- Mature size
- Under 2 to over 50 ft tall, by form · 10–20 ft, sometimes 40+ ft wide
- Season of interest
- Intermittent flowers
- Local climate
- Choose by island, elevation, and rainfall.
- Garden role
- A flowering native focal point
ONE GOOD SWAP
Instead of tropical hibiscus.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Try ʻōhiʻa lehua for a flowering native focal point.
Compare plantsNATIVE TO YOUR PLACE
Find it in your state guide.
Reviewed native coverage. Choose your state to see more alternatives.
Dig a little deeper.
Photo credits & licenses
ʻŌhiʻa lehua: Forest and Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0 us
Tropical hibiscus: Jack Wolf · CC-BY-SA 2.0
Resized, converted to WebP, and cropped in the layout. Each photo retains its listed license. All photo credits