Callistemon masotti Mini Red - Bottlebrush

Callistemon masotti 'Mini Red' is a variety of Weeping Bottlebrush, designed for small spaces! This small tree, with beautiful ornamental qualities, has a graceful weeping habit, fine and elegant evergreen foliage, and dazzling spring flowering, in the form of particularly bright red spikes. It will reach an average height of 1.20m (3ft 11in) and a width of 80cm at maturity. It is a fairly adaptable species in cultivation, valuable for landscaping in mild climates. It can be planted in a large terrace pot, or even in the garden as a standalone specimen or in a rockery. It is also a good conservatory plant in colder climates.

Callistemon is a large bush in the myrtle family, related to myrtles and Leptospermums, native to southeastern Australia, specifically the states of New South Wales and Queensland, where it is often found growing along rivers, in partial shade. Reaching a height of 15m (49ft 2in) in its natural environment, it rarely exceeds 7m (23ft) in height and has a spread of 2 to 3m (6ft 7in to 9ft 10in) in our climates.

It is an evergreen bush in mild climates, with brittle wood, forming a dense dome-shaped crown composed of trailing branches. Its growth is rather slow. Its linear and narrow foliage is divided into leaflets ranging from 2 to 8cm (0.8 to 3.1in) long, with a beautiful green-grey colour. In spring, young shoots tinged with red emerge at the ends of the branches. Its axillary flowers are composed of very long bright red stamens and are arranged in cylindrical spikes at the ends of flexible young branches. These inflorescences are about 5cm (2in) in diameter and 7cm (2.8in) in length, and hang slightly. The terminal bud develops new leaves and then new spikes several times, while the old inflorescence produces small cup-shaped fruits. Its grey-brown bark is cracked and decorative. It is also a plant that attracts many pollinating insects to the garden.

Hardy to about -5°C/-6°C (21.2 °F), Callistemon is quite resistant to summer drought once well established, but appreciates water in dry climates. In a greenhouse or conservatory, it will create an extremely decorative quartet with an orange tree, a Tibouchina, or a Mimosa, evoking landscapes with exotic charm and scents. In mild climates, especially on the Mediterranean coast or in the south of the Atlantic coast of our country, it can be used as a standalone specimen - it deserves it - in a free hedge or in the back of a border, even on the edge of a woodland. It can also be planted in an evergreen hedge, accompanied by a shrubby Ceanothus ('Italian Skies', 'Concha', 'Puget Blue', 'Skylark'...), a spring-flowering broom, or Oleanders (Nerium oleander 'Soleil Levant' or 'Provence'). Its good tolerance to salt allows for coastal exposure, facing the wind and salt spray.