Can someone help me please, I searched high and low for a bottlebrush like the one my mother had that the council destroyed. Found it CALLISTEMON rigidus.

I planted it last year, along with a smaller more plant like bottlebrush and covered them over our horrible winter as she had told me they would not cope with the cold until it was a few years old.

The weather has finally picked up and I've removed the "breathable, protective" cover, all the leaves are brown, and covered in mildew spots, the thing looks dead. However, the end branches are still very pliable when you bend them, so it makes me think the plant itself isn't dead.

I know you can prune them, but to remove all the dead leaves, I'd have to cut it right down to the ground.

I've spent so long looking for this plant, and now I'm scared the -14C weather has killed it.

Can anyone give me any advice?

trouble626 wrote:
Can someone help me please, I searched high and low for a bottlebrush
like the one my mother had that the council destroyed. Found it
CALLISTEMON rigidus.

I planted it last year, along with a smaller more plant like
bottlebrush and covered them over our horrible winter as she had told
me they would not cope with the cold until it was a few years old.

The weather has finally picked up and I've removed the "breathable,
protective" cover, all the leaves are brown, and covered in mildew
spots, the thing looks dead. However, the end branches are still very
pliable when you bend them, so it makes me think the plant itself
isn't dead.

I know you can prune them, but to remove all the dead leaves, I'd have
to cut it right down to the ground.

I've spent so long looking for this plant, and now I'm scared the -14C
weather has killed it.

Can anyone give me any advice?

Grow plants that are suitable for your climate.

David

Hi Trouble, Firstly, its very important that we know where you live ?? Secondly, alot will depend on how and where it was initially raised ?? Its possible (depending where you live) it has spent most of its short live (at the nursery) inside or under cover ! Even down here in Cornwall, my young bottle brushes (18" tall in 2 litre pots and grown outside) have some brown leaves due to the bad winter ! You say the branches are still pliable but scratch them and see if they are still green ?? If so, you may be lucky and it will shoot again. I wouldnt do anything yet, no pruning but I would leave it unwrapped, as im thinking maybe, while it has been extremely cold, some of your problems might be due to it being wrapped up ?? You dont say how big this plant is ? but Id leave it until end of March and then halve the stems and if its going to shoot, it will then do so fairly quickly ! If your unlucky and it is indeed dead and you replace it, try to find one thats been raised outside !!
If your comming to Cornwall this summer, we have loads down here and a reasonable price to pay (depending on size) would be about £4-50. We raise them outside so that they are as hardy as possible (with our salt winds) and thats what you want to look for ? but your success will depend on your location and maybe, a good thing next time would be to grow it in a tub for a couple of years, so that you can give it some protection if these bad winters continue before planting it out. One tip I can give you, after flowering, remove the small hard seed pods (cut them of behind the old flowers) all they do is to sap the plant of vigour and energy producing seed you dont want !!
hope this helps, Lannerman