Bottlebrush Snow Burst

Bottlebrush 'Snow Burst' (Callistemon 'Snow Burst') is the bottlebrush for gardeners who want the bird traffic without the red. It grows to about 2.5m tall and 2m wide, carrying creamy white brushes over fine green foliage in spring and again in autumn. This Australian native takes frost, drought, salt and wet feet, which puts it in reach of far more gardens than most flowering shrubs.

Why you'll love it

• White brushes instead of red. Cream and white flowers sit comfortably in any colour scheme, which is exactly where red bottlebrush often causes trouble.
• Birds and bees both work it. Honeyeaters take the nectar and the flowers are heavily worked by bees, so it earns a place in a wildlife garden.
• It copes with wet and dry. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and wet feet tolerant, so it handles a drainage line that floods in summer and bakes in winter.
• A screen at the right scale. At 2.5m it covers a standard fence line without becoming a tree you have to manage.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense screen. It takes a trim well, so you can hold the face anywhere from 1.5m to its full 2.5m.

Mass planting. Grouped through a native bed or along a swale at 1m spacing it gives a long flowering season and holds soil on damp ground.

Feature planting. A single plant pruned to a clear trunk makes a small weeping specimen for a courtyard or a narrow bed.

Growing Bottlebrush 'Snow Burst' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering, with part shade tolerated at the cost of density. It grows across subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is frost hardy, so cold southern and tableland districts are no obstacle.

Soil. Almost anything. It handles clay, sand and periodically wet ground better than most natives, which is why callistemons turn up along creek lines and dam edges.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then only in dry spells. A low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring is enough. Do not use standard rose or lawn food.

Pruning. Trim straight after each flush, cutting the spent brushes off just behind the flower. That is what keeps a bottlebrush dense rather than leggy, and it sets up the next flowering.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock and in 140mm packs of ten. Both are young plants, which is the sensible way to buy a shrub used in numbers: a tube planted in spring is usually knee high by the following autumn, and two to three years gets you a solid 2m screen.

Plant promptly rather than holding small stock in its pot, and water in well. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the full callistemon care guide
• Compare the whole bottlebrush range
• Screening plants from 2m to 4m
• Top bird attracting native plants

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants knit into a continuous face within two to three seasons and stay furnished at the base.

When does it flower?

Mainly spring, with a lighter second flush in autumn. Trimming straight after each flush increases the number of flowering tips next time round.

Does it need much water?

Not once established. It is drought tolerant after two seasons, yet it also tolerates wet feet, which makes it unusually flexible on a site with variable drainage.

Will it grow in a cold garden?

Yes. It is frost hardy and grows through cool temperate districts, though flowering starts later in the season than it does further north.