For a native plant whose healing properties are legendary, I’m afraid to say that mānuka brings me more grief than goodwill – and not just because its needle-like leaves have sharp, jabbing tips.
Mānuka () is a horticultural conundrum, a hardy soul that likes living rough in the bush, but behaves like a prima donna when pampered in my garden. In the wild, it colonises landscapes scarred by fire, slips and roading earthworks, taking the first regenerative baby steps back to native forest. But in my backyard? It sulks in the shade of taller companions,
