Pōhutukawa blossom's dramatic bloom spurred by wet spring

A wet spring has added extra depth to the pōhutukawa blossom, with New Zealand's unofficial Christmas tree looking particularly striking this year.

But the recent rain has presented challenges to fruit growers who may be dealing with smaller harvests. 

Mount Maunganui is a sea of red thanks to pōhutukawa blossoming - the dramatic bloom helped by some recent wet weather.

1 NEWS meteorologist Daniel Corbett says low pressure and rain have been the features of the weather over the last several weeks.

"So that's moisture into the ground, filling up the roots. And the next thing you know you finally get some fine days, so the trees, the plants, the pōhutukawa, they go 'yes!'"

This summer is a stark contrast to our last.

"We were looking at places over most of the country through November, December where we had fractions of normal rainfall," Corbett said.

"So all the plants and all the trees they were huddled together. And if anyone remembers last year, a lot of the blooms were much, much less."

But while coastal areas are experiencing a taste of Christmas, Summerfruit New Zealand says growers aren't as happy.

The industry body says prolonged moisture means fruit may be large, but overall crop volumes are likely to be down. But because trees aren't supporting as much fruit, it should be more flavorsome.

And while we enjoy this year's summer display, threats remain for the pōhutukawa future.

John Sanson of the Ministry for Primary Industries says it's asking the public to keep watching out for myrtle rust infection in trees, particularly in areas where it hasn't been found before.