Callistemon pallidus

RHS Plant Profile
lemon bottlebrush
Shrubs

An upright or spreading evergreen shrub, 2-4m high, with numerous slender branches. The young shoots are silvery or red and covered in silky hairs, as well as narrowly-elliptic, grey-green or dark green, leaves up to 10cm long. Cream or pale yellow flowers, in semi-open "bottlebrush" spikes 10cm long, appear from late spring to midsummer, followed by woody fruit capsules which may persist for several years

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Loam, Sand

Max Height

2.5-4 metres

Max Spread

2.5-4 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
10–20 years
Max Spread
2.5-4 metres
Max Height
2.5-4 metres

Growing Conditions

Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
West–facing or South–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H3

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Foliage
Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Myrtaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Evergreen
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Callistemon are evergreen shrubs with aromatic, linear to lance-shaped leaves and bottlebrush-like spikes of flowers in which the long colourful stamens are prominent
Name Status
Correct
Plant Range
Australia, Tasmania

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in full sun in moderately fertile, freely-draining but moisture-retentive neutral or acidic soil; under glass grow in peat-free, loam-based compost

Propagation

Propagate by seed, sown onto moist compost at 16-18°C, in spring, or by heeled semi-ripe cuttings of lateral shoots in late summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Coastal
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Low Maintenance
  • Wall side borders
  • Hedging and screens

Pruning

Pruning group 1 (little or no pruning of trees and shrubs)

Pests

May be susceptible to scale insects, mealybugs and glasshouse red spider mite

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus