| Name |
Specimen
- Callistemon Citrinus - Lemon Bottlebrush |
| Cultivation |
Lemon
bottlebrush likes well drained soil, preferably sandy loam, but is quite
adaptable. Avoid heavy sdoils and soggy ground. Lemon bottlebrush can
take some salt spray but do not it plant too close to the shore. If grown
in the northern part of its range, expect winter kills. Protected with
mulch around roots, the plant usually comes back. It may sucker up around
the base. |
| Family |
Myrtaceae
(myrtle Family)
Species: citrinus |
| Genus |
Callistemon |
| Synonyms |
lemon
bottlebrush, crimson bottlebrush, red bottlebrush |
| Known
Hazards |
None
Known |
| Range |
Callistemon
citrinus is native to to Australia. |
| Height |
Lemon
bottlebrush is a small tree or large shrub that gets 6-12 ft (2-4 m) tall
and 6-9 ft (2-3 m) wide. |
| Habitat |
Light:
Bottlebrush does best in full sun.
Moisture: Lemon bottlebrush thrives in average to dry soils. It is rought
tolerant once established. |
| Characteristics |
The
leaves are narrow, lance shaped, and leathery, with a distinctly citrus
aroma (thus the common name). The bright red, plump, bottle-brush shaped
flowers are composed mostly of stamens. They bloom off and on throughout
hot weather. The bark is somewhat rough and light brown. The Lemon bottlebrush
is a fabulous specimen tree or shrub for a bright, sunny area. It may be
used for a tropical effect in a pool side planting, or surrounded by white
rock, against a light colored wall. Wherever it is placed, it should be
visible either from the street or from the house. |
| Edible
Uses |
None
Known |
| Medicinal
Uses |
None
Known |
| Other
Uses |
The
bright red, distinctive flowers are irresistible to hummingbirds! |
| Propagation |
Take
cuttings from semi-ripe wood in summer. Bottlebrush can be grown with patience
from seeds. Gather dried flowers and keep in them paper bags to let seeds
fall; plant in spring, sowing on the soil surface. |
| Cultivars |
Other
less hardy forms of bottlebrush are available, including C. viminalis (weeping
bottlebrush) and C. speciosus (showy bottlebrush). Callistemon rigidus is
about equally hardy to cold with smaller flowers. |