Bottlebrush

Full sun; a tough Australian shrub with fragrant leaves. Blooms appear on new growth, with bright red, fine-textured puff flowers during warm weather. Bottlebrush is often combined with bunchgrasses or other shrubs for a drought-hardy mixed border, suitable for property lines, driveways, etc.

Various species are available in the landscape trade: locally, Melaleuca citrinus is commonly used as a foundation plant or a bush; Melaleuca linearis is a taller species with dark thin leaves. Both are slow growing but very drought tolerant. Like their local relative, wax myrtle, they can be heavily damaged by extreme cold below 10F.