On 6/26/2009 2:07 AM, Pete L wrote:
We live in Margate, UK. About 2 mins walk from the sea so get very few
frosts. We have a bottle brush in a pot and is about 18 ins high. My
question - when the red 'brush' dies down on a branch there is further
growth of leaves above. Should these leaves be cut off or will a new
brush appear?

I had bottle brush in my previous home. This was Calleistemon citrinus
(also known as C. lanceolatus), not a species of Melaleuca. After
flowering, a branch would indeed grow longer. In a later season, that
branch would flower again. Since the seeds will remain attached to the
branch for a long time, I would occasionally have several bands of seeds
along the same branch.

On the other hand, if you cut the branch (even just the tip), the plant
will become more bushy.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary