Metrosideros excelsa - New Zealand Christmas Tree

I love Metrosideros, but they dislike our climate.

Yes, M. excelsa can be very tender. I remember the freeze of 1990 in the San Francisco Bay Area...even the trees close to the bay were badly damaged or killed by the cold (which was so strange because it's such a common tree there and I had never seen them damaged from cold).

Small ones might have been killed...but there are some in Golden Gate Park that people have confused my photos of them as being "Banyon (Ficus) trees". Huge trunks buried under masses of aerial roots. I've seen them in south Fremont on hot dry summer days...with those hanging roots. As street tree's no less.

Yes, I do remember the old large trees with all the aerial roots in Golden Gate Park. They're such beautiful trees...and love coastal conditions. They grow to huge proportion (larger than in Golden Gate Park) on Coronado Island with all their aerial roots. With all their aerial roots they almost resemble Banyan trees (Ficus species).