Other Names:  Weeping Bottlebrush

Brand:  Southern Living

Description:

This bushy, compact shrub makes a unique addition to the garden or landscape; its light green new foliage darkens to emerald green; branches are adorned with striking red bottlebrush flowers from spring into summer; heat and drought tolerant

Ornamental Features

LIght Show® Bottlebrush features showy spikes of red catkins at the ends of the branches from early spring to mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has attractive dark green foliage with hints of silver which emerges light green in spring. The fragrant narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. The shaggy gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

LIght Show® Bottlebrush is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

LIght Show® Bottlebrush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

LIght Show® Bottlebrush will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

LIght Show® Bottlebrush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.