With their gaudy heyday and depleted - maintenance needs , bottlebrush trees(Callistemonspp . ) are often prefer in warm growing zones for hedges or statement plants . They grow best in full sun and land with low alkalinity , but other than that are n’t very particular about where you plant them .
Soil Preparation
Bottlebrush thrive in a wide variety of soil conditions , except for highly alkalic soil . They will tolerate slightly alkaline soils , but mellow alkalinity results in greensickness , which ferment the plant ’s leaf lily-livered . Soils with a pH higher than 7.5 have temperate or high alkalinity . You should * * test thesoil pHbefore planting * * bottlebrush plants .
you could brace the pH of some soil types , but there is no way to for good lower the alkalinity of soils with a high density of calcined lime . trial lime content by placing about 1 tablespoon of wry soil in a cup and dampen it with white vinegar . If the soil burp , it contain too much lime to amend the soil sufficiently . If it does not bubble , on a regular basis sum constituent amendments can decrease the alkalinity enough to grow bottlebrushes .
Amend stain before planting with an organic amendment low in mineral table salt , such asplant - found composts and sphagnum peat moss . This will help stabilise the soil pH and meliorate soil texture , even in grime that do not test as alkaline . spread out a layer of amendment 2 to 3 in deeply over the planting surface , and turn it in to a profoundness of 6 to 8 inch . If you ’re using organic subject to get down soil pH , give this same amount each twelvemonth for the next three years , then apply 1 to 2 inches each year after that .
Planting Tips
Dig aplanting hole1 to 2 inches shallower than the rootball and three sentence as wide . This prevent trees from settling too deeply in the soil after establish and furnish liberal soil on either side for new ancestor to grow . Remove the container and set the tree diagram in the hole , then fulfill in around the flora with the same soil you dig out of the planting muddle . When you ’re done , you desire the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the same depth it was antecedently maturate or slightly higher than the smother soil , with the soil splash up to forgather the top of the rootball .
When dig planting gob for multiple tree , space far enough apart to permit for the tree ’s mature size . For instance , red bottlebrush ( _ Callistemon citrinus , U.S. Department of Agriculture industrial plant hardiness zones 9a through 11 ) acquire 10 to 15 feet tall and wide , and weeping bottlebrush ( Callistemon viminalis _ , USDA zones 9b through 11 ) farm 15 to 20 metrical foot . space them 4 to 9 foot apart gives them way to grow with some intersection . Dwarf bottlebrush ( Callistemon citrinus’Little John , ' USDA zone 8 through 11 ) originate only 5 fundament wide so you’re able to plant them 2 foot aside .
In their preferred growing zone , bottlebrush can be planted year - round . You ’ll just have to make certain that you cansupply equal waterfor the new roots . In Florida , for illustration , it ’s easier to plant during the cooler fall , winter and spring than seek to supply enough piddle to keep the soil moist during spicy summer .
After-Planting Care
Right after planting , water exhaustively to correct the soil . If the grease level throw away after lacrimation , total more soil and water again . For the first yr after planting , weewee regularlyto keep the soil moist . Bottlebrush are native to dampen locations and are more potential to establish mystifying tooth root systems if you give them plenty of water .
After they are well - found , most bottlebrush varieties are drought tolerantand need very little supplementary watering . The exception is weep bottlebrush , which requires good deal of water to keep the soil moist .
To keep them produce and flowering well , fertilise bottlebrushwith a low - phosphorous plant food . Phosphorous is represent by the middle bit in a fertiliser ’s N - phosphorus - K ratio , so seem for fertiliser with a abject number in the centre . For instance , apply a dry slow - release fertilizer with an N - atomic number 15 - K proportion of 12 - 4 - 8 by scatter 1 tablespoon per square fundament of grunge control surface . Do this twice a year , once in the spring and once in the fall .
