Muehlenbeckia complexa 'Maori'

Native range and cultivar background

Muehlenbeckia complexa is native from Lord Howe Island to New Zealand, where it grows from coastal to montane country in rocky places, shrubland, forest margins, dunes and disturbed ground. Its flexible stems can scramble through surrounding vegetation or form dense mats across open ground.

In New Zealand, the tangled growth supplies shelter and food for native insects, birds and lizards and is a host plant for endemic copper butterflies. Beyond its natural range, the same rooting and smothering habit has allowed the species to naturalise, including in Britain, and become locally invasive in parts of California.

In horticulture, ‘Maori’ is a fine-stemmed, tiny-leaved selection of Muehlenbeckia complexa grown for its trailing habit. It belongs to the species rather than forming a separate botanical type.

Care for wiry trailing growth

Light: Give Muehlenbeckia ‘Maori’ a bright position, with gentle direct sun. High light keeps the tiny leaves close together and the growth dense. Introduce stronger sun gradually, since foliage raised under cover can scorch after an abrupt change.

Water: Keep the root zone moderately and evenly moist during active growth, then let the surface begin to dry before watering again. A small, densely rooted pot can dry faster than the species’ coastal drought tolerance suggests, while permanently wet compost deprives the roots of air.

Soil and temperature: Use a loose, well-aerated mix in a pot with a drainage hole. This is a temperate plant rather than a tropical one. Cool conditions may cause partial leaf fall without killing flexible, healthy stems, but container plants still need protection from severe frost and cold drying wind.

Growth and pruning: The slender stems naturally trail, twine through a support or weave through one another. Trim long shoots to maintain the required outline and encourage branching, without expecting the plant to become self-supporting. Stem cuttings taken from firm, partly matured growth can be rooted in warm conditions. Maintain light and root-zone moisture steadily, and wait for renewed extension before trimming.

Common problems and solutions

• Seasonal leaf loss: Partial leaf drop after a cool change can be normal for this temperate vine. Check the stems before discarding it: living shoots remain flexible and may produce new buds when light, temperature and moisture become favourable again.
• Sparse, open growth: Longer gaps between the tiny leaves usually indicate insufficient light. Move the plant gradually into a brighter position and trim only after renewed growth shows that the roots are functioning.
• Crisp leaves: Dry brown margins, widespread crisping and a very light pot point to water deficit. Wet the full root ball, let it drain and check more frequently while the small, densely rooted container is actively drying.
• Yellowing in wet soil: Yellow leaves combined with stalled growth and persistently wet substrate indicate poor root aeration. Allow the root zone to lose excess moisture, clear blocked drainage and inspect for dark soft roots if decline continues.
• Bleached patches: Pale or tan tissue on the side facing strong sun usually follows an abrupt increase in exposure. Stop the harshest direct sun and reintroduce it in smaller steps; the damaged areas will remain marked.
• Fine webbing or sticky deposits: Stippling and webbing suggest mites, irregular cotton suggests mealybugs, and fixed bumps or honeydew suggest scale. Keep the plant apart, inspect the interwoven stems closely and treat the pest found, taking care to reach the crowded inner stems as well.

Keep Muehlenbeckia complexa ‘Maori’ away from children and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its effects after chewing or swallowing are unclear, and plant material can still cause an upset stomach.
• Contact a veterinarian or medical professional if symptoms develop or do not settle.

When was Muehlenbeckia complexa first published, and what does it mean?

Muehlenbeckia honours the physician and botanist Heinrich Gustav Mühlenbeck. Complexa is Latin for “interwoven”, “entangled” or “complex”, describing the dense tangled branching.

Carl Daniel Friedrich Meisner established the genus Muehlenbeckia in 1841 in Plantarum Vascularium Genera, volume 1, page 316.

Allan Cunningham first described it as Polygonum complexum in 1838 in Annals of Natural History, volume 1, page 455. Carl Daniel Friedrich Meisner later placed it in Muehlenbeckia as Muehlenbeckia complexa in 1841 in Plantarum Vascularium Genera, volume 2, page 227.