Reeves Pink Bottlebrush

Reeves Pink Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis 'Reeves Pink') is the weeping bottlebrush for gardeners who want the bird traffic without the usual crimson. It grows to about 3.5m tall and 3m wide, arching into a soft weeping shape, and carries dusky pink brushes through spring and again in autumn. It is fast, forgiving and one of the few natives happy in both wet ground and drought.

Why you'll love it

• Pink rather than red. The brushes are a soft rose pink that sits comfortably with white and silver foliage where a scarlet bottlebrush would fight everything around it.
• Birds arrive within a season. Honeyeaters and lorikeets work the flowers, and bees and butterflies follow.
• Genuinely fast. A 200mm plant makes a useful 2m screen in two to three seasons with water and a light feed.
• Copes with the extremes. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, salt tolerant and happy in damp soil, which is an unusual combination.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1.5m apart for a dense screen. At that spacing the weeping branches interlock and the row closes without the base going bare.

Coastal gardens. Salt and wind do not trouble it, so it suits an exposed boundary where more delicate shrubs burn off.

Feature planting. Left unpruned it develops a small weeping tree shape, useful as a focal point in a native bed.

Growing Reeves Pink Bottlebrush in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering. It suits tropical, subtropical, warm temperate and cool temperate gardens and is frost hardy once established, though a young plant in a hard frosting inland district is worth protecting through its first winter.

Soil. Not fussy. It grows in clay, sand and everything between, and it tolerates ground that waterlogs after rain. Mulch 75mm deep, clear of the stem.

Water and feed. Water twice a week through the first summer, then it needs very little. Use a low phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring; standard garden fertilisers can damage the roots.

Pruning. Trim straight after each flush, cutting back into the spent brushes. That keeps it dense and encourages a second showing in autumn. It reshoots from old wood, so a neglected plant can be cut hard.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes as 140mm plants in packs of ten or 200mm plants in packs of six, both sized for planting a run rather than a single specimen. These are young single stemmed plants, usually knee height or under, and they are the best value way to build a screen because small bottlebrush roots down quickly.

Expect a quiet fortnight after planting, then new growth within four to six weeks in warm weather, and first flowers in the second spring. 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

• Read our guide to growing callistemons.
• Compare varieties in the full callistemon range.
• See other bird attracting plants for a wildlife garden.
• Browse alternatives in hedging and screening plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One and a half metres apart in a single row. Closer than that and the plants shade each other out at the base, the usual cause of a gappy bottlebrush hedge.

Can I keep it lower than 3.5m?

Yes. Two trims a year, taken straight after flowering, hold it at 2m. Because it shoots from old wood it stays furnished at the bottom rather than lifting into bare stems.

Why has mine stopped flowering well?

Usually too much shade, or pruning at the wrong time. Cut back within a few weeks of the brushes finishing; trimming in late winter removes the buds for the coming spring.

Is it suitable for a wet part of the garden?

Yes. It is one of the better natives for ground that stays soggy after rain, and it handles drought once established, so a spot that swings between the two suits it.