Bottlebrush Icy Burst

Bottlebrush 'Icy Burst' (Callistemon 'Icy Burst') is the white flowering bottlebrush for gardens where the usual crimson would clash. It is a compact native shrub to about 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide, covered in cream and white brushes that bring honeyeaters and bees in close. Planted a metre apart it makes a soft informal hedge that needs two trims a year at most.

Why you'll love it

• White brushes instead of red. The cream and white flowering sits comfortably beside grey foliage, rendered walls and pale paving, where a red bottlebrush fights the setting.
• A size that suits real gardens. At 1.5m each way it screens a fence line or a pool pump without becoming a tree you have to manage.
• It shrugs off extremes. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant on the coast, and unusually happy in ground that stays wet after rain.
• Constant bird and bee traffic. Honeyeaters work the brushes through each flowering flush, and the plant supports bees and butterflies alongside them.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense hedge at 1.2m to 1.5m. Tighter spacing does not close the gap faster and only makes watering and feeding harder.

Mass planting. Set 1m apart in drifts along a fence, a batter or a driveway edge, where tolerance for both drought and wet feet makes it reliable on uneven ground.

Coastal gardens and pots. Salt tolerance suits exposed coastal blocks, and a single plant holds well in a 500mm pot on a courtyard or balcony.

Growing Bottlebrush 'Icy Burst' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the heaviest flowering and the densest habit; part shade works but flowering thins noticeably. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and being frost hardy it handles cold southern winters once established.

Soil. Not fussy. It copes with clay and with beds that hold water after heavy rain, which is unusual in a shrub that is also drought tolerant. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper to occasional watering in dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, since standard garden fertilisers can damage the roots.

Pruning. Trim straight after each flowering flush, cutting back behind the spent brushes. That one habit is the difference between a dense shrub and a leggy one, and it reshoots readily from older wood.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes: tube, 140mm in packs of ten and 200mm in packs of six. Tubes and 140mm plants are young and single stemmed, and they are the value choice for a long hedge line, taking about a season longer to close. The 200mm plants arrive already branched and flower sooner.

Expect little visible growth for the first month while roots establish, then a strong flush in the first warm season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete callistemon care guide
• Browse the full bottlebrush range
• Compare screening plants from 1m to 2m
• Bird attracting natives for Australian gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet within two seasons and the hedge holds at 1.2m to 1.5m with a trim after each flowering.

Can I keep it smaller than 1.5m?

Yes. Trimming after each flush holds it around 1m without thinning it out, because it reshoots from older wood rather than only from the tips.

Does it cope with a wet spot in the garden?

Better than most shrubs. It tolerates periodically wet feet, so a low bed that holds water after storms suits it, though permanently boggy ground is still too much.