BottleBrush Bush

I have to admit that this is one of my favorite plants.  I love, love, love the Bottlebrush plant.  This plant is truly  a carefree plant with little to no worries about diseases or bug problems.  It will flower several times a year here in the south, (I live just outside of Houston, Texas).  The Bottlebrush is great for covering things and blocking views, such as a fence, or blank wall, or a bright light from a neighbor's flood light attached to the back of their garage.  The last example is what happened to us.  The light was so bright that it lite up over half of my backyard and shined into my son's bedroom window.  We put up a bottlebrush to screen out the light.  It grew nicely over a short period of time and is beautiful when it blooms. 
Another great thing about this plant is that there is very little pruning involved in taking care.  It is best to trim it to shape it.  Try not to take out too much out of the center of the plant.  

The ins & outs of the Bottlebrush:

Scientific name: Callistemon rigidus
                        This is native to Australia.

Growth Habit:  Zones 8-10
                        Grows 8 x 6 feet; the average growth is 6 x 4 feet (but I have seen it grown to about 11 feet)

Flower:  Bright red spikes near the tips of the branches, each flower sessile, in axil of floral leaf.  Many   
              bristlelike stamens one inch or more long.  Flowers grow in a mass in the shape of a bottlebrush,
              hence the name.  It flowers in late spring and early summer and then again in the fall.

Foliage:  The leaves are a gray-green leaf scattered along woody stems.  Each leaf is 2 to 5 inches long and
              about 1/2 inch wide.  They have a midvein that runs through the middle.  The tips of the leaves are
              sharp-pointed.  The new foliage is showy being reddish green.

Pros:  -Drought tolerant.
          -The bottlebrush plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, as well as bees (this is a good thing).
          -Bottle brush have wonderful flowers that are very showy when in bloom.
          -These shrubs and small trees are salt tolerant, which makes them great for near the beach.
          -Non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.
          -Very little care to keep this plant a beauty, mild pruning.
        
Cons:  -The bad thing about these plants is that they will freeze when there is a severe winter.  I personally
           have not lost any of these plants but they have died back to the ground during a hard winter.
           -If you don't trim them occasionally, the ends of the branches can bend down instead of staying
           upright.  The flowers tend to be heavy and makes the branches droop on smaller branches.
           -Bottle brush plants do not want to be in poorly drained soils.


Other common varieties:  -'Little John'- a dwarf red
                                     - 'Splendens'- a scarlet-red
                                     -'Hannah Ray'- an orange-red
                                     -Callistemon citrinus- Lemon bottlebrush lemon-scented leaves; red flowers.
                                     -Callistemon viminalis- Weeping bottlebrush, red flowers.