Plants from down under – Bottlebrush

Name - The Crimson Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) was introduced to Britain by Joseph Banks in 1789 from Australia, the bottlebrushes number about twenty-five in all and are grown for their curious flowers, which are borne in cylindrical spikes resembling bottlebrushes, which is how they get their common name. The botanical name comes from the Greek kallos = beauty and stemon = stamen because each stamen is tipped with a dot of bright yellow pollen, giving them their ‘fibre-optic’ appearance.

Description - Each flower is very small but has long stamens, which protrude to form the hairs of the ‘brush’. They are mainly red – like those of the Crimson bottlebrush - but there are yellow, purple, white and green forms.

Origin - In milder areas some can be grown outside where they are best positioned against a wall for protection in full sun. Bottlebrushes are good for planting in coastal regions as they need a lime-free soil both in the open garden, although they are commonly grown in containers. No pruning is necessary except to keep the plant under control if it gets too large. It’s almost impossible to grow these from seed yourself, because in many varieties the fruits will only release their seeds by being stimulated into opening by forest fire. In their natural environment the heat would cause the fruit to crack open and the seeds would then drop into the ash below.

For Decoration – the plant can look very insignificant when not in flower and for this reason, and because it is tender it is usually grown in containers in a conservatory where it can be tucked out of sight for its non-spectacular months. Cut the stems to display the flowers and lightly touch the cut ends with a flame to seal the edges which helps keep the many tiny flowers from dropping.

Australian bottlebrush photograph by meshmar2, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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