Tag: Pruning Natives

Callistemon Citrinus

Callistemon Citrinus | Growing + Care Guide Australia

The Callistemon Citrinus 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.

Callistemon Citrinus Features

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.

 

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!

Last week I featured the Callistemon brachyandrus, this week I am featuring the Callistemon citrinus.

https://aussiegreenthumb.com/738/callistemon-braccyandrus/

Pruning Australian Native Plants

(Make sure you check out my most popular and helpful articles when you get a chance).

I was just perusing the internet and came across a fantastic article from Gardening Australia called ‘Pruning natives‘.

As the article discusses, many people think it is unwise to prune Australian native plants but this is simply not the case. In fact if you want your Australian native plants to be as healthy as they can then pruning is recommended.

Yes, it is true that some will respond better than others but it is a pretty safe bet that all Australian native plants will respond positively to a light prune.

For those that follow my blog, you would be aware that Australian native plants are a passion for me. I’ve been running a popular ongoing series featuring Australian native plants each month (see my summary post + free ebook), and discuss the best tools and tips for keeping your garden tidy in my garden tools series (see overview here).

Pruning your garden should form part of a good overall garden management plan. Why not challenge yourself to improve your garden with my popular “30 days to a better garden” series? You will not only cover pruning but landscaping, plant selection and much more. Go on, set yourself a gardening challenge.

For more information on pruning Australian Native plants check out the article from Gardening Australia here, and for a detailed list of Australian native plants download my free native plant ebook.

Free download – Plant of the Month ebook

(Click here or click the image below to download)

better garden plant of the month compilation

So You Want A Better Garden?

All my best articles have been collected into what I’m calling the ultimate gardening toolkit – make sure you take a look, there’s a heap of great gardening advice available.

I’ve also published a series of gardening ebooks that you might be interested in. Good luck!