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Sophora Dragons Gold (Winter flowering Kowhai)
The first Kowhai of the season is producing its first flowers at the moment, much to the delight of our nectar feeding birds. It is the smaller growing shrubby kowhai Sophora Dragons gold which was discovered on Stephens Island out in the Cook Strait where Tuataras flourish. So you can see how it got its name.
This Kowhai grows around 1.5 metres tall but spreads in width to over three metres. It is an evergreen variety producing greenish yellow flowers over a long period from winter until mid spring. It is very hardy, being tolerant of drought, coastal gales and cold. As it is propagated by cuttings Sophora Dragons gold flowers from year one and all plants grow the same.
I have seen this shrub trained as a single stemmed standard with the head clipped into a ball, the trimming done after flowering so as not to sacrifice the flowers.
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