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Callistemon Subulatus

Aberdeen Gardening Posted on by

The Callistemon which I had seen in Aberdeen in the past was clearly a one off fluke, I would not recommend it as a hardy plant for the North East. However I will give it one more try as a container grown plant which I will over Winter in the unheated greenhouse.

The Callistemon which I planted in the Spring of 2009 ended up looking very sorry for itself by February 2010, the leaves were dry and crumpled up,Callistemon Subulatus I reckon the temperature just got too low at times for this plant, it was an exceptionally hard Winter. This is the third attempt with Callistemon, I was convinced that we had on this occasion found a position that was so sheltered success would be more likely.

I have seen a mature specimen growing in Aberdeen admittedly only on the one occasion but we are in a bit of a frost pocket, so perhaps if you have a go yourself you may have more success than we have.

Callistemon (Bottlebrush Plant) comes from Australia a genus of 25 species of evergreen shrubs and trees. They have simple lance shaped leathery mid green leaves but the shrub is mainly grown for their bottlebrush like flowers.

This plant is mostly seen with colourful red flowers some of the other less common ones have flowers of purple, white or pink.

The hardiest and the one that you should have a go with is Callistemon Subulatis. Red flowers in June/July lemon scented and grows to a height of 150cm. Plant in a sheltered sunny spot in moist moderately fertile soil which should be neutral to acid. Keep the plant tidy by pruning after flowering period is over. Watch out for red spider mite.

Only reason I have for listing this plant is because it never fails to turn up in our garden centres each year.

 

Comments

Callistemon Subulatus — 8 Comments

  1. Appreciate your expertise Jordan however I can assure you it is very unlikely that Callistemon would survive in Aberdeen. I promise you I would know.

  2. I doubt cool summers would be a problem. It seldom gets above 25C here. Cool summers might cause Callistemon to grow more slowly. But that is a good thing because they can get quite large. I’ve had to prune the Hell out of Callistemon rigidus. Other bottlebrush that have survived -10C in my garden are C pallidus, C sieberi & C viridiflorus. I should think you would have success with any of them. If it gets very cold very quickly there can be damage to the leaves. But that has happened only once or twice over 15 years in my garden.

  4. How cold does it get in Aberdeen. I’ve had Callistemon subulatus in a pot on my patio in Seattle for 15 years. I never take it indoors. The temperature here has been as low as -10C. In fact, I have 5 species of Callistemon that have survived that much freezing.

  8. I’ve never grown these but I’ve seen them in coastal gardens and in California. The fluffy red blooms are gorgeous! I’ve had similar cold-hardiness experiences when I saw people growing oleanders in my area. Some varieties are cold hardy here and others aren’t (and a microclimate helps).

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