CALLISTEMON, commonly known as bottle brush, is an attractive plant that adds life to a garden. The beautiful orientation of its foliage and systematic floral pattern with beautiful branching has earned it an important position in modern gardens.
There are many varieties of Callistemon found in the tropics but there are only three varieties widely used in Kerala viz, Callistemon citrinus, Callistemon linearis and Callistemon viminalis. All three differ from each other in their characteristic features.
C citrinus is the most widely found of them. Its stem has a corrugated broken bark which is a common character of Myrtacean members. Leaves are narrow, thick and carry an aroma similar to that of lemon grass which makes it a popular plant during landscaping.
Flowers appear as bristles and resemble a brush used to clean test tubes, hence the name. Flowers last for a few days and later develop into round seeds which is attached to the stem for quite a long time. C citrinus is ideally planted in isolation on a sprawling lawn as it causes little disturbance to the grass. The leaves do not cut off the sunlight completly but provide optimum shade. The fallen leaf or flower parts do not cause any hindrance and can be swept under the grass by a gentle sweeping or even by a gentle wind. When planted in clusters they can be kept at a distance of 5-8 feet in a row and the branches get interlocked. You need not prune the top as they grow to a height of 20 feet and remain as a beautiful wall mask.
Clinearis is the narrow leafed bottle brush. They generally grow to a height of 8 feet and can be maintained as hedges of 75 cm or 150 cm to your requirement.
The smaller hedges are made where you need a physical mask and not a visual one, while the taller hedges serve both a physical and visual block depending on the requirement.
When group planting the maximum distance between two plants must be 60 cm so that when cut they form a single hedge form.
Cviminalis is a stand alone plant due to its weeping type of branches and flowers.
Grouped it does not give a stable look. Ideally planted along waterfalls or rocky area it reaches a height up to 30 feet.
Callistemon in general are sturdy plants with low chances of pathogen attack. They can tolerate a high level of dryness and a reasonable amount of salinity. They prefer loose compost soil. Propagation is widely done by layering. When replanting, maximum soil must be attached to the roots else they are easily disturbed.
For creating a quick garden 6 ft tall plants are available in sacks at nurseries. The saplings take more than a year to grow to an optimum height.
subramanianm@epmltd.com