The New Zealand name for this gorgeous shrub is Pohutukawa and it's known as their Christmas tree because, there, it flowers in December with its bright crimson blooms covering the tree.  This variety has attractive, variegated leaves.  Here, it flowers with us under glass in June/July but it will survive in well-drained warm gardens. It flowers magnificently on Tresco and this is where ours come from, taken from legal cuttings! Put outside in a pot for summer, bring into cool dry room in winter and water lightly, allowing it to drain freely.