Here is a closer view of the flowers.

-Brian

{{gwi:1082793}}

nice pictures---what species or cultivar are they???

Hi George. I don't know what species this is, nor does anyone else. Ian Barkley has looked at it and collected seeds, but he has no real idea what species, or cultivar it is either. I will say that I have never seen, in any part of the world, a Callistemon flower color I prefer over this one. There are a few seedlings in my garden from this plant that just sprouted where the seed must have fallen, or blown. None, however are taller than a foot, and none have flowered, and so I don't have any idea if it will keep true to it's flower color from seed.

-Brian

Nice plant! Very cool. I have an aside question for you, though. Do you know the brand and name of the color your porch is painted? I like it!

Heather

Hi Heather. The paint used is foundation paint. From what I can remember, there were only two colors, brick red, or grey. Any of the big home improvement stores should have it. I just painted the house last fall, and painted the foundation the same brick red color that was there before.

-Brian

Thanks very much :-)

Great photos! I can see you and I share a passion for Australian plants.

Cheers, Barrie.

I've got one potted up in the neighbor's yard--they took a liking to bottlebrush during a trip to Arizona some years ago. I find this plant to be much more tender than eucryphia, for example. 30° and the leaves are toast.

So glad you posted the pics! I bought one of these guys this spring and just thought the greenery interesting, but didn't expect flowers this big. Hope mine does as well.

Brings back memories of a great trip to Florida a few years ago. I always really liked those shrub/trees.

'Woodlanders Hardy' ('Woodlanders Red') might be a good one to try. Local nurseries have it.

Beautiful!!! I'm going to look for this one and find out some info on it, because I have never seen this before!

J

Very nice, Brian. I especially like the close-up photo. It's a beautiful plant.

Patrick

Wow, I had no idea that bottlebrush trees would even grow in the Northwest, let alone flower! We had them in our yard in San Jose years ago. We loved them, even if they did make us sneeze (like a lot of other eucalyptus trees do, just because their pollen is irritating to the membranes). The hummingbirds do love them.

I have about 25 Callistemon taxa in my garden near Olympia. Some of them froze to the ground in 1998, but all grew back. Callistemon citrinus and its cultivars, and C. viminalis, the two most common species in California, are not hardy for us.

I'm still trying to figure out how 'Woodlander's Hardy' differs from 'Woodlander's Red'. They offered both in their catalog simultaneously so they can't be the same thing.... I hope! But they look awfully similar. I have both but 'W. Red' hasn't bloomed yet. Here is a pic of 'Woodlanders Hardy' in my garden.

Actually, you do sometimes see a nursery making mistaken duplicate listings like that. Others are giving 'Woodlanders Red' as a synonym of 'Woodlanders Hardy', but if they are actually 2 different clones it wouldn't be the first time such a pair got lumped together as one by those outside the inner circle.

I have some viminalis that survived this winter in pots outside. Some did lose their leaves but the majority did not.

Recent winters have been mild. Weather varies! One or a few winters don't add up to a serious trial. Marginal plants can grow for decades, then freeze out. The 1990 winter was the coldest one around here in 30 years.

I had C. citrinus from 1999 to 2003 and then it froze in January 2004. I think C. viminalis would have done about the same. But if a plant will live through most winters, I consider it hardy enough to be worth using in my garden.

It's true they could be the same plant, I'm just hoping not, since Woodlander's has such an excellent reputation in general and offers many rare species that are usually ID'd correctly. Of course, if they were so clever they could have figured out what species they have instead of naming it after their nursery! (Not that Callistemon taxonomy is easy or remotely stable... it's about as bad as Eucalyptus, Grevillea or Agave!) Anyways, I have 'W. Hardy' from Woodlanders itself and 'W. Red' from a guy who got his plant from Woodlanders... so I'll soon find out if they are the same. I have a number of Callistemons with identical leaves and growth habit but different flowers so all I can do is wait for flowers.

When I ordered from them, a long time ago, the stuff was badly rootbound. This is a too common problem, but at least one of the Woodlanders plants was REALLY bad.

That's too bad.... that's the only bad report I have heard about them though. I hear good things about them from most everyone, but I have only placed one order from them - shipping costs are prohibitive.

Doubtless much stock is planted without paying much attention to the condition of its roots. If somebody's not aware that deformed roots are a minus, of course they're going to think the plants they've bought were great, if they like the way the tops look. A common behavior when shopping is to pick out plants with big tops. These will also be the ones most likely to be rootbound.

"Containerized materials, especially those in gallon sized pots, often have serious root problems as
a result of poor potting-up techniques. Potbound plants exhibit circling root systems, which if not
corrected become woodier and more troublesome the older they get. Eventually these circling
root systems become girdling roots, which can lead to the early death of otherwise healthy trees
and shrubs. At transplant time, a more aggressive approach to root preparation can discover
potentially fatal root flaws. Circling roots, J-hooked roots, knotted roots, and other misshapen
roots can often be corrected by careful pruning. In this manner itÂs possible to remove those root
problems before they threaten the survival of your shrub or tree."

Here is a link that might be useful: The Myth of Fragile Roots

Hi! Hope I'm not intruding but, Brian, I gotta say your callistemon looks great! I have a few in my garden and they don't look near as good as yours, and as you can see I live in Australia. One of my bushes flowered for the first time last year since I've been here (5 years). The other one puts out a few blooms, then nothing. Must be the moist climate you live in that gives them that edge. Congrats!
Cait

Maybe try different kinds or different siting within garden.

"Very nice, Brian. I especially like the close-up photo. It's a beautiful plant. Patrick."

Hey Patrick. I should have given you a seedling when you were over here. I don't know if the seedlings will hold true to the parent, but I guess I will find out next summer with some luck. I will save one for you if you like. Get in touch with me in the spring if you would like one. Take care.

-Brian

A bit off topic but, a very good herbicide has been developed from the Callistemon family called Callisto. Works great on broadleaf weeds yet is tolerated by many crops.

Hi Brian,

Thanks...I'd love one. I'll be considering the best protected site for it. Don't forget about the echiums.

Patrick