Callistemon Summer Days

Callistemon 'Summer Days' (Callistemon hybrid) is a medium bottlebrush: a native flowering hedge without the scale of the old street tree forms. About 2m tall and 1.8m wide, it carries red brushes through the warm months and copes with frost, drought, salt wind and periodically wet ground. Honeyeaters arrive within days of the first flower.

Why you'll love it

• Hedge height without the pruning fight. Around 2m by 1.8m unclipped, so a boundary hedge sits where you want it.
• Red brushes through summer. Classic bottlebrush colour on a plant sized for a suburban front garden.
• It takes wet feet and drought. A bed that floods after storms and bakes in February suits this plant better than most.
• Serious wildlife value. Nectar rich flowers pull in honeyeaters, lorikeets, bees and butterflies.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart for a dense hedge; the plants meet within two to three seasons and stay furnished at the base. Stretch to 1.5m for an informal screen.

Mass planting. Repeat it through a native bed or driveway run for summer colour with almost no upkeep once established.

Feature planting and difficult ground. A single plant makes a small feature shrub, and one of the better choices for a corner that stays damp after rain.

Growing Callistemon 'Summer Days' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering and densest habit; part shade thins the display. It suits tropical, subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens, and being frost hardy it can be hedged in cold southern gardens.

Soil. Not fussy. It handles clay better than most natives and tolerates ground that stays wet for periods, though it will not live permanently submerged. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper off. Feed a low phosphorus controlled release native fertiliser in early spring, and again in late summer on trimmed hedges.

Pruning. Trim straight after each flush, cutting just below the spent brushes before the seed capsules harden. Neglected plants go woody and open, though they reshoot from old wood if cut back hard in early spring.

What to expect when it arrives

This callistemon is sold as tube stock: young single stemmed plants, often ankle to knee height, and the value choice for a long hedge line. Unrestricted roots mean they establish quickly, and a tube planted hedge usually closes in its third season.

Tube stock travels well. Plant promptly, water in and keep the bed damp for the first month. Tip prune from the start, because early trimming builds the low branching a hedge needs. Plants are delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Our guide to growing and caring for callistemon.
• Compare varieties in the full callistemon range.
• Other screening plants in the 1m to 2m band.
• More bird attracting plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. Closer planting does not close the hedge any faster, and crowds the roots later.

When should I prune it?

Immediately after each flowering flush, cutting back just below the spent brush. Prune late and you remove next season's flower buds, which is the usual reason a bottlebrush stops performing.

Can I keep it lower than 2m?

Yes. Two trims a year hold it at around 1.2m to 1.5m, and because it reshoots from old wood it stays leafy at the base.