Callistemon Sweet Burst

Callistemon 'Sweet Burst' (Callistemon hybrid) is a compact bottlebrush that stays around 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide, which makes it one of the few native flowering shrubs you can hedge without constant cutting. Red brushes cover it through spring and again in autumn, and honeyeaters find them within days. It handles frost, drought, salt and a wet winter corner, so it suits gardens from the tropics to cool temperate districts.

Why you'll love it

• Birds arrive for it. The red brushes are full of nectar, and honeyeaters and lorikeets work a flowering plant hard.
• Compact enough to hedge. A natural 1.5m by 1.5m means a low informal hedge needs one trim a year, not four.
• It takes wet and dry. Drought tolerant once established, yet tolerant of wet feet, which is unusual and very handy in a low spot.
• Coastal ready. Salt tolerance lets it sit in a front garden that catches sea spray without burning off.
• Native and low maintenance. No spraying regime, no staking, and a light prune after flowering is the whole job.

Where it works best

Informal hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart for a dense hedge. At that spacing it closes into a solid 1.5m band within two seasons, which is enough to screen a fence line or divide a garden.

Mass planting. Use the same 1m spacing across a bank or a nature strip for a low, flowering block that needs almost nothing once away.

Feature planting and pots. A single plant carries a native bed, and a pot 400mm or wider holds it at around 1m to 1.2m on a sunny balcony.

Growing Callistemon 'Sweet Burst' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering; part shade works but the plant opens up and flowers less. It suits tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and arid gardens, and it is frost hardy once established.

Soil. Almost anything. Callistemons grow in poor, sandy and clay soils, and this one accepts ground that stays damp in winter, which most natives will not. Mulch 75mm deep and keep it clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, because standard garden feeds can damage the roots of native shrubs.

Pruning. Trim lightly straight after each flush of flowers, cutting back into the spent brushes. That is what keeps a bottlebrush dense to the base instead of woody and open at the bottom.

What to expect when it arrives

This variety is currently supplied in tube stock only. Tube plants are young, single stemmed and usually under 30cm, which is the standard and most economical way to plant a native hedge or a mass planting of any size.

Small natives establish quickly, and tube stock often catches a larger potted plant within two seasons. Expect new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather and first flowers in the second year. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Growing bottlebrush: varieties, planting and care
• Compare the full callistemon range.
• Browse other screening plants between 1m and 2m.
• See more bird attracting natives for Australian gardens.

Common questions

How far apart for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet within two seasons and hold a dense face right down to ground level.

When and how do I prune it?

Immediately after flowering, cutting back into the spent brushes rather than into bare old wood. Leave it too late and you remove next season's flower buds.

Will it grow in a damp spot?

Yes. This is one of the natives that tolerates wet feet, so a corner that stays soggy after winter rain suits it where most shrubs would rot.

Does it really attract birds?

Honeyeaters, lorikeets and native bees all feed on bottlebrush nectar, and a flowering plant is usually found within days in a suburban garden.