Garden Planner & Almanac The Cottage Garden Companion
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Kowhai

Sophora microphylla

Shelter is the requirement here — hard frost and wind both find the young growth first.

Light Full sun to light shade, in a spot the hard frosts miss.
Water Regular water while young; it handles dry spells once established.
Height 6 m
Spread 16 ft 5 in
Spacing 500 cm

Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing
16 ft 5 in
In-row spacing
16 ft 5 in
Between rows
20 ft 6 in
Square-foot density
Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type
Tree · Perennial
Botanical family
Mixed / other
Sunlight
Full sun to light shade, in a spot the hard frosts miss.
Watering
Regular water while young; it handles dry spells once established.
Feeding
A balanced feed in spring, and nothing high in nitrogen.
Frost tolerant
Yes
Flowering
March
Pruning
Barely any — light shaping once the flowers are done.

Through the year

  • Mar–Mar Bud Break
  • Mar–May Flowering
  • May–Jul Fruiting
  • Jul–Dec Dormancy
  • Jan–Mar Dormancy

Pests & problems

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant

  • Hoverfly Syrphidae
    Hunts Scale insects

    Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

    Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
  • Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
    Hunts Scale insects

    The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

    Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow

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