Callistemon citrinus
Lemon Bottlebrush
- Hardiness
- USDA Zones 8–11
- Seasonality
- Evergreen
This variety is no actively in production in our propagation house and may not return to our catalogue. We maintain this page purely for reference and archival purposes. If you would like to grow this plant, tell us. Your interest helps guide what we bring back.
For a larger installation or commercial project, write hello@woodlanders.net.
Callistemon citrinus, the crimson bottlebrush, is the plant most people picture when they hear the common name, and the parent of a good share of the red-flowered selections in the trade. The lance-shaped leaves emerge coppery and pink, harden to a soft gray-green, and give up a clean lemon scent when bruised, the trait the species epithet records. Bright crimson brushes, four inches or so, come in a heavy flush in late spring and then intermittently through the warm months, each one a generous well of nectar for hummingbirds and bees.
A coastal eastern Australian shrub in the myrtle family, the crimson bottlebrush is among the more forgiving members of the genus, taking sun, wind, and lean soil in stride once established. Cold is the limit, as with most bottlebrush: expect reliable performance in zone 9 and the milder edges of zone 8, with the foliage flushing mauve to purple in a cool winter. Woodlanders grew this species as a benchmark of the genus and a foil to the hardier selections we introduced.
red, summer