Photo: Edward Russell

Genus: Callistemon
Species: citrinus
Common Name: Crimson Bottlebrush
Flower Colour: Red
Foliage Colour: Green
Growth Habit: Small Tree to 3m
Flowering: Spring to Autumn

The Crimson Bottlebrush could well be called the King of the Bottlebrush family. It is by far and away the most common and the most popular Bottlebrush and has been exported to many countries around the world. One of the most prized aspects of this species is in its best years it will flower twice, once generally in Spring and then again generally in Autumn. If the flowers are late then it may only flower once and this may even be in Summer.

The citrinus prefers soil with good drainage and a full sun position. Applying fertiliser all year round will provide you with the best chance of getting two flowering seasons and the citrinus isn’t as susceptible to fertilisers with a high phosphorous amount like many other Australian natives. This species is found naturally occuring throughout the East Coast of Australia but will generally do well in most cold and temperate climates. Even the tropics of Australia have seen success with this variety of Bottlebrush.

The best time of year to prune the citrinus is after the Spring flowering. Only prune after the autumn flowering in climates that do not experience too much frost. Prune off the spent flowers to encourage growth and hopefully a second flowering season!

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Apparently a lot of people out there are indeed growing Kangaroo Paws because the number 1 search engine term leading traffic to this blog at the moment is  ‘pruning Kangaroo Paws’. This probably has something to do with the fact one of my previous articles is on Kangaroo Paws and the next is on pruning Anustralian Native Plants. However let me just quickly be a little more specific and talk directly about pruning Kangaroo Paws.

Kangaroo Paws, or plants of the genus Anigozanthos, are an absolute delight to grow in your garden but to get the absolute best from them they must be pruned. Kangaroo Paws mostly flower during Spring and Summer, through some varieties start early in late winter. They grow great big, long stems and the flowers emerge at the top.

Pruning when in flower

There are a few good times that you can prune Kangaroo paws and the first is during flowering. My first tip in pruning Kangaroo Paws is to make sure you cut the flower stems right off as soon as the flowers are starting to look less appealing. This pruning before the flowers have died entirely encourages the plant to produce new stems and flower again, giving you a second or sometimes if you are lucky even a third showing during a flowering season. Clip the stems off at the base of the plant  and as with most pruning try and cut at a 45 degree angle. This reduces the risk of disease and pests causing trouble. Doing this for every flower stem will both increase the health of the plant and also give you great flowers to boast about.

Pruning at the end of the flowering season

When your Kangaroo Paw has finished flowering (usually mid to late summer or early autumn) it is a very good idea to give it a real brutal prune. The good thing about Kangaroo Paws is that most of what is important for it’s growth is under the ground. The biggest tip for the post-flower pruning is to cut the stems and leaves right back down to ground level. I even read somewhere of a gardener who likes to use a lawn mower to ‘prune’ his Kangaroo Paws. Though I do not myself advocate this practice…it does likely work! I like to be a little more tender and delicate in my pruning, but the principle still stands, prune Kangaroo Paws HARD at the end of their flowering season for best results in subsequent seasons.

So there you have it. Kangaroo Paws are a pleasure to grow and they are pretty much brown thumb proof. Pruning Kangaroo Paws is not terribly difficult because you really would struggle to be too harsh in pruning them. Good luck and I hope this helps since right now is flowering time for Kangaroo Paws!

For more information on pruning Australian Native plants check out the article from Gardening Australia here