28 Dec 2009

Pohutakawa bloom under Project Crimson

12:16 pm on 28 December 2009

Efforts to restore pohutakawa tree numbers will have been underway for 20 years in 2010.

Project Crimson chief executive Bridget Abernethy says the operation was launched after it was discovered that 90% of coastal pohutakawa had vanished because of possum damage and logging.

She says research a decade ago found the pohutukawa was regenerating well, but it will take a century before mature trees are as abundant as they once were in some places.

Ms Abernethy says about 1000 volunteers take part in the planting and protection of pohutakawa stands each year.

She says the cousin to the pohutukawa, the rata, has subsequently been added to the project.