Pseudowintera colorata 'Marjorie Congreve' Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Horopito (NZ Pepper Tree)

Pseudowintera colorata 'Marjorie Congreve'

£9.99
Hardy in the UKShade-tolerantEvergreen
Pot size
9cm / 0.5L £9.99

FREE tracked delivery on orders over £60

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Description

Pseudowintera colorata 'Marjorie Congreve' is the finest form of horopito, New Zealand's pepper tree, and a plant with one of the deepest back-stories in any garden: its family, Winteraceae, sits close to the very origin of flowering plants. The pale khaki leaves are flushed and edged blood-red, blotched crimson and purple, and the colour intensifies with light and cold until winter plants seem lit from within.

It is slow, dense and H4 hardy from its mountain-forest home, and it carries a secret: the leaves are a genuine culinary spice, with a slow, hot, peppery burn that Maori and New Zealand chefs prize. Beautiful, ancient, hardy and edible is quite a combination for a 1.5 m shrub.

How and where to grow

  • Position: dappled shade to gentle sun, sheltered from freezing winds.
  • Soil: moist but well-drained, acid to neutral, humus-rich; no lime.
  • Size: slowly to around 1-1.5 m.
  • Hardiness: H4, around -10C; colour deepens in cold.

Grow it at the woodland edge among ferns and plants for shade, beside its compatriots Pseudopanax 'Cyril Watson' and Muehlenbeckia astonii on the NZ shelf of our hardy exotics, or in an ericaceous pot with our plants for pots.

Nursery-grown, well-coloured plants. Winter honesty in our seasonal expectations guide.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

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What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

  • Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
  • It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
  • Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for Horopito (NZ Pepper Tree)

Give me sun with a little shade and I will stand a UK winter outdoors.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.
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About Horopito (NZ Pepper Tree)

Pseudowintera colorata 'Marjorie Congreve' needs partial shade or full sun and moist but well-drained soil. It is hardy to around −10°C, standing an average UK winter outdoors.

Good for

Exotic Borders Pots & Containers Shade

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

Hardy Exotic (H4): down to around −10°C. Hardy through an average UK winter.

Rated H4, hardy to around -10C: it grows in New Zealand mountain forest and takes British winters in its stride. Shelter from freezing winds keeps the foliage pristine. Read moreShow less

Rated H4, hardy to around -10C: it grows in New Zealand mountain forest and takes British winters in its stride. Shelter from freezing winds keeps the foliage pristine.

Position

Partial shadeFull sunNorth-facingEast-facingWest-facingSheltered
Light or dappled shade to gentle sun. More light and cold deepen the red colouring; hot midday sun can bleach it. Read moreShow less

Light or dappled shade to gentle sun. More light and cold deepen the red colouring; hot midday sun can bleach it.

Soil

LoamClaySandMoist but well-drainedAcid pHNeutral pH
Moist but well-drained, acid to neutral soil rich in organic matter. Dislikes lime and drought. Read moreShow less

Moist but well-drained, acid to neutral soil rich in organic matter. Dislikes lime and drought.

Watering

Keep evenly moist for the first two summers; mulch annually and water in dry spells thereafter. Read moreShow less

Keep evenly moist for the first two summers; mulch annually and water in dry spells thereafter.

Mature size

Height1-1.5 m
Spread0.8-1.2 m

Reaches full size in 10-20 years

Growth habit

Bushy

Seasonal colour

Foliage

Evergreen

Pruning

No routine pruning; trim lightly in late spring only if shaping is needed.

Toxicity

Leaves are edible as a hot spice in small amounts; intensely peppery, so use sparingly.

Native range

New Zealand

Family

Winteraceae

Also known as

Pseudowintera colorata 'Marjorie Congreve'

Genus

Pseudowintera
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What is horopito?

Pseudowintera colorata, the New Zealand pepper tree, is one of the world's most ancient flowering plants, from the primitive family Winteraceae. Maori call it horopito and use the fiery, peppery leaves as a native spice. 'Marjorie Congreve' is a selected form with especially rich red flushing over the pale khaki leaves.

Is Pseudowintera hardy in the UK?

Yes: it comes from cool mountain forest and is rated H4, taking around -10C. Cold actually improves it, deepening the red and purple leaf tones through winter. Details in our seasonal expectations guide.

Can you really eat the leaves?

Yes, sparingly: horopito is a genuine culinary spice in New Zealand, with a slow-building, hot peppery burn. Dry and crumble a leaf over food as you would chilli flakes. A plant that is beautiful, hardy and edible is a rare thing.

Where should I plant it?

A sheltered spot in dappled shade with moist, acid soil, woodland-edge conditions. It grows slowly to around 1.5 m, perfect among ferns and our other plants for shade and NZ companions like Pseudopanax 'Cyril Watson'.

How fast does horopito grow?

Slowly, a hand-span or so a year, which keeps it dense, colourful and in scale for small gardens and pots for many years. Ancient lineages are never in a hurry.

Will horopito grow in a pot?

Very happily: use ericaceous compost, keep it moist, and site it in light shade. Slow growth means it stays handsome in a container for years. More companions in our plants for pots collection.

Does my plant come with a pot?
Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.
How big will my plant be when it arrives?
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.
What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.
What should I do when my plant arrives?
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.
Will my plant survive being shipped?
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
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Packaged with Care

Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

Backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee.

Perfect for Gifting

Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

Delivered fresh, beautiful, and gift-ready.

Sustainability at Heart

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

Good for your home - and the planet.

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