Exotic but also quite hardy Bottlebrush plants tips for success

[@GrannyEarth]

I’m the Garden Granny at our Garden Department here in Arizona…. I purchased a couple of Emu bushes which are so beautiful & hardy! I couldn’t leave my shift without The Bottlebrush! She was the last one so i snagged it. Next is finding the right spot in my garden. She’s hanging out under my giant mesquite tree by my hummingbird feeder & my beehive. This is hopefully our last week of 100+!!!! Your Garden is Gorgeous! Thanks!!

[@rogthegardener1]

Well .. what an honour to hear from a genuine 'Garden Granny' ! This is a first for me 😀 Your garden and wildlife sounds amazing ... we have been struggling to get above 60 for ages and it has been raining since last October 2023 ... it seems! Thanks for getting in touch - enjoy your garden!

[@leeannmansfield5254]

I bought 2 of these this year and ive never seen anything so beautuful.

[@rogthegardener1]

They are lovely- enjoy!

[@clivecaiger6231]

That is just beautiful-well done Roger-i love bottle brush plants,lovely!

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks Clive - yes looking forward to summer to see this years flowers, are you in the uk?

[@clivecaiger6231]

Yes I am-got quite into exotic gardening-palms.I love Australian plants!@@rogthegardener1

[@rogthegardener1]

@@clivecaiger6231 Great, I got the tropical bug about 25 years ago, and am 'still infected' ! Just working on a video from a visit to a wonderful garden in Spain last summer - lots of lovely palms etc, should be uploading over the weekend !

[@rogthegardener1]

@@clivecaiger6231 I have just uploaded that spanish garden video to my channel in case you are interested

[@ValorousDefined]

Had one of these in the house ive lived in since '99, previous owner was a gardener and its been moved positions and dug up once, still here nearly 30 years on, nothing will kill this plant

[@rogthegardener1]

Brilliant! Sounds like a great plant you have there some of the more tender (larger leaves) varieties have suffered this winter in the uk. Ours looks fine though Enjoy your garden!

[@ValorousDefined]

@@rogthegardener1 Mine looks the same as yours, small leaves deep red flower, these plants will probably outlive us!

[@rogthegardener1]

@@ValorousDefined 😀👍

[@daleandrews3552]

My parents bought a house around 1975 that already had a couple of the red/magenta colored ones that were on either side of their front door in the U.S. in southern Louisiana. No problems with cold weather there, but they do get quite "leggy" and overgrown if not trimmed regularly. I know, b/c I've helped them prune, and those stems get woody hard to cut with regular shears. After a few years, the bases of those things get humongous like tree trunk! But no matter how far you cut them back, they always seem to send out new shoots. They are very pretty when they bloom and attract hummingbirds, I've found. Thanks for posting. 😊

[@rogthegardener1]

yep amazingly resilient plants 🙂

[@scharliem]

Just love your garden!❤❤❤

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks very much -it doesn't always look good - but I do love being out there!

[@TheSalfetka]

I have planted mine last spring and it was thriving until the winter hit. It didn’t survive. Bought another one yesterday and planted it into the pot. I will keep it on all day long sunny terrace. I hope that one will do better. Your garden is absolutely mesmerising

[@rogthegardener1]

sorry to hear you lost yours, are you in the uK?

[@TheSalfetka]

@@rogthegardener1 yes. In the east of uk

[@rogthegardener1]

@@TheSalfetka Yes well good luck with this new one, the older they get and the more woody stems they develop the hardier they become I think ... springs coming at last !

[@colouryourmemories5109]

I grew 20 of these beauties from seed last year, and they survived the winter of 2022 UK outside 😊

[@rogthegardener1]

Ah - well done! you've got me thinking now that maybe I should have a go at collecting / sowing the seeds ...thanks!

[@colouryourmemories5109]

@@rogthegardener1 your welcome!

[@Myrtuscommunis]

Amazing flowers. One of my favorite plants. 💚😀

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment - enjoy your garden!

[@thatONEguyAGAINandAGAIN]

I took some pods off my mothers tree 2 years ago and have been growning 10 plants from seed since, been growing them inside window for most of the duration, introducing them out in full sunlight and cold weather so often

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment, good luck with your seedlings, maybe I can try some from seed as well, I will check to see if our plant produces any 😀👍

[@AngelaFoster-m2p]

0:06 hi I have an overgrown bottle brush with long woody stems. Will it come back if I prune right down to a few inches. I’ve never pruned it at all and it’s starting to look very spindly now . Thx

[@rogthegardener1]

@@AngelaFoster-m2p hi, great question and a familiar challenge, I was looking at ours yesterday and did cut back a few branches, but only by about half. Can I ask a couple of questions to help me answer your question ..? - whereabouts are you living …uk? - how big is your bottle brush currently? - Do you know which variety you have? Thanks

[@norabeattie4712]

Beautiful plant.but the one I have callistemon citrinus the leaves are very dry & brown. I have of some early in spring What is wrong it

[@rogthegardener1]

@@norabeattie4712 hi, sorry to hear about your C.Citrinus, can I ask - where are you living? - are there any green leaves or is every leaf brown?

[@ssharif8626]

Thank you for perfectly informative video. Now I can get one being sure It will survive outside here in Buckinghamshire. Your garden is beautiful!

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment - enjoy your garden ... and your bottle brush!

[@wandasinger7713]

Thank you for sharing. I purchased a bottle brush last summer. It had red blooms. I’m in California zone 9b. Within one month my plant turned brown like it was all dried out. It was in a ten gallon pot. I’d plan to replant it, but didn’t get a chance to. I ended up throwing it out. I should have taken it back. Bummer, it wasn’t cheap. I didn’t know anything about bottle brush plants. Yours are beautiful. I will try one again. I love the way it looks in bloom. Blessings to you and your family 🙏🏾

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment, blessings to you and yours too

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment, blessings to you and yours too

[@louisew4378]

Thanks loved seeing your other plants and garden and your comments were really helpful. As a homesick Aussie I have bought what I hope is the hardy little bugger callistemon rigidus so that it copes with our wet and cold West Yorkshire Climate - nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing those familiar red golden tinged bottle brushes in summer. As it is so wet here I was thinking perhaps I should plant it in a hole with gravel at the bottom and some more sand mixed into the soil to make sure it never gets water logged- we are on Acid peaty soil here - your thoughts?

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Louise, thanks for your comment. I totally get how plants provide great memories for you, I often think of my few weeks in Australia (back in the 80’s) when I look at our Cordyline palms 😀 Which part of of Oz were you living in? Yes, I think some good drainage would be good, ours is near the top of some sloping ground so excess water runs off…. So in addition to some sand and/or grit planting in some elevated ground could help … I suppose you could create a raised mound of soil with sand/grit added to help? Some high potash fertiliser through summer can also help toughen up growth ready for winter Hope this helps? Roger

[@louisew4378]

@@rogthegardener1 Hey Roger thanks so much - mostly round Sydney by the lovely coast path that runs from Bondi to Bronte - loads of lovely bottle brushes and even more frangipani's though don't think I have much chance with them so the bottle bush is my best bet. I'll let you know how I get on, cheers L

[@rogthegardener1]

@@louisew4378 sounds lovely ...Frangipani is one of my dream plants ... got very little chance here in the UK ... unless we get a very large conservatory to overwinter them ... sometimes it is good that we cant have everything we want - so we can still have a dream?

[@DanaQuinn88]

Gorgeous 😍

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks - yes we love it!

[@coralkingshott5949]

My bottle brush was lovely the first year but since then it looks a bit ragged and wild and not many flowers, what can i do 😊

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Coral - it would be helpful to have a look at your plant and anything near it - any chance you could send me a couple of photos to [e-mail] Thanks

[@paulnolan4464]

Yes there Australian, have one in my back yard , when flowering it's full of Rainbow lorikeets

[@rogthegardener1]

Sounds lovely! Which part of Australia are you living in?

[@paulnolan4464]

I'm 60 miles north of Sydney

[@TC-sm8rc]

These are everywhere here in melbourne, the native birds love them too... do you get birds in the flowers after nectar over there in uk?

[@rogthegardener1]

Not so much birds, although we do have a bird seed feeder right next to our bottlebrush…maybe because it is not native to our country… thinking about it we don’t have many nectar feeding birds here in the uk … have seen plenty of bees and hover flies on them though. I went to Melbourne back in the 1980’s - lovely area !

[@TC-sm8rc]

@@rogthegardener1 i will be at the boxing day test at the MCG hoping to get another one up on the poms during the ashes :-) thanks for your reply at least the bees are enjoying those flowers. I have a similar issue with the metrosideros exclesa which is native to NZ and the birds love them over there. my one is flowering now and it only attracts the bees

[@clothnappies123]

The botanical name is Callistemon as I am Aussie and I love native Australian plants 1:27.

[@lyonheart84]

I must admit I just cut mine back hard to give more light to my pineapple guavas but I'm hoping it will generate more new growth before the end of the season 🤞

[@rogthegardener1]

I am sure will grow back at some point, maybe some this summer and then a another flush next spring ... any sign of figs getting near ripe yet?

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

I was shocked when you said 20 years. In Perth Western Australia these plants are that size after 4 years and north of 6M after 10 years. It needs an open sunny space.

[@rogthegardener1]

Wow, they must look amazing at 6 metres high. thanks for your comment!

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

@@rogthegardener1 Because they grow in the billions in Australia you don't really notice them. The forests and parks of Oz are massive. Trees like Jarrah, Karri, Marri, Tuarts, Tingal's all grow north of 50M Climb one of those and you're seeing a lot of country!!

[@rogthegardener1]

@@yabbadabbadoo8225 sounds fantastic, one day I would love to experience that ! Cheers mate!

[@rethablair6902]

New subscriber here😍

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks - welcome to our ‘little family’ 😀, feel free to leave comments and questions- we learn from each other, where in the world are you?

[@rethablair6902]

@@rogthegardener1 Thank u, I am in Flint Michigan USA💚

[@noradouthit9752]

My one flowered very well this year. Ive never pruned it. Now its September, possibly I will leave it until it finishes flowering in 2022 and prune then. It is very big and causing a lot of shade to plants below it and they are not happy about it.

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment, your plan sounds like a good one 👍

[@milliehart748]

How do you prune a bottle brush plant please?

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi - good question ... it may depend slightly on where you live ... are you in the UK? if so North or South?

[@judyscott-l5u]

What about crimson bottle brush

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi Thanks for your comment, I think the Crimson Bottle Brush is Callistemon Citrinus Spendens .. which is very similar to ours in the video .. but is possibly not quite as hardy / tolerant of wet and cold winter weather ... but am not absolutely sure to be honest - are you in the UK?

[@WillyFriar]

Lots of talk but not many tips. Try changing the title.

[@rogthegardener1]

Thanks for your comment, enjoy your garden - I think I hear what you are saying, here in the UK finding a hardy variety that can withstand cold winter weather is the key, so I focus on that in the video, so as you say maybe the title should reflect that content?

[@paddybyrne518]

3

[@newbie1216]

Umm why is it not blooming even after 3 months? I have them in large pots and i water them about 1 litre in 2 days gap plz can u help me what's my mistake

[@rogthegardener1]

Hi, thanks for your comment, a couple questions - where in the world are you living? what is the climate like? - how big is the plant? Thanks - hope we can help you once ew know some more details