Lemon Bottlebrush, Crimson Bottlebrush

Scientific Name: Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels
Synonym: Callistemon lanceolatus
Family: Myrtaceae

Recommended Temperature Zone:
Sunset®: 8-9,11-24
AHS: 10-8
USDA: 8b-11

Frost Tolerance: Hardy in Phoenix

Heat Tolerance: Excellent

Sun Exposure: Full sun

Origin: Southeastern Australia

Growth Habits: Evergreen shrub or small tree, up to 10 to 25 feet tall (3-7.5 m) depending on the variety and the way it is trained; alternate, lethery, light green, elliptic leaves up to 6 inches long (15 cm), 0.5 to 0.8 inch wide (12-20 mm); new growth is pubescent, golden to copper-colored

Watering Needs: Little water when established, tolerates poor soils, needs good drainage and occasional deep watering

Propagation: Seeds (growing very slowly and giving seedling of great variability), semi-hardwood cuttings

Propagation: Cutting or occasionally seed

• by semi-hardwood secondary cuttings, in late spring. Use intermittent mist. Root in 10 weeks. Cut firm wood with stripes on bark...
• by seeds.

There are 20 odd species of Callistemon, all native to Australia. The leaves of Callistemon citrinus have a slight lemony flavor when crushed (that's were the name 'citrinus' comes from). It is often sheared to make hedges, in this case it doesn't bloom as much.

Blooming Habits:
The Lemon Bottlebrush bears conspicuous red flowers clusters, bottle-brush-like in shape, 1 to 1.6 inches long (2.5-4 cm), occuring principally in spring, but also occasionally during most of the year. The fruits are woody capsules.

Culture:
The Lemon Bottlebrush is very tolerant of heat, cold and bad soil. Use fertilizer for acid loving plants if it starts showing signs of chlorosis. To use as a screen, plant every 4 to 6 feet (1.2 m to 1.8m), trimming the upper part of the bush will be needed when the bottlebrush becomes older to keep the lower foliage.