Actual size and flowering may vary slightly based on season.
Lemon Bottle Brush Tree
Lemon Bottle Brush Tree is lemon bottlebrush grown as a small tree, with red bottlebrush flowers over lemon-scented evergreen leaves. It blooms heaviest in spring, and hummingbirds, butterflies and bees visit. As a tree it suits a specimen spot or a sunny patio. Plant it in full sun, in soil that drains, with deep, infrequent water.
Best for: a specimen or accent tree in full sun, a small tree for a sunny patio, and hummingbird plantings.
Grown as a tree, it makes a flowering accent in full sun. The red brushes come heaviest in spring, with some more in fall.
It can be used as a small tree near a sunny patio. Plan on about 10 to 25 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide.
For a line of trees along a wall or drive, space them about 8 to 12 feet apart. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees visit the flowers.
Alkaline Valley soil makes its leaves turn yellow, and soggy soil makes it worse. It needs soil that drains and iron when the leaves yellow.
- Close row of trees8 ft apart, center to center
- Open row of trees12 ft apart, center to center
Water more often for the first couple of months while it roots. After that, give it deep, infrequent soaks, especially in summer, and less in winter. Never keep the soil soggy.
Leaves turn yellow in alkaline soil, and more so when the soil stays wet. Cut back on watering and add an iron product or a fertilizer for acid-loving plants.
Feed it in spring and summer. If yellow leaves show up, switch to a fertilizer made for acid-loving plants.
Train it firmly while young to get an upright tree form. It can be grown with one trunk or several. Left alone, it grows as a large shrub.
Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.
Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.
Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.
If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.
If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.
Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.
Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.
Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.
How big does a lemon bottlebrush tree get?
It usually grows 10 to 25 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide, at a moderate pace, so give it room near a patio.
How do I keep lemon bottlebrush growing as a tree?
Train it firmly while it is young to get the upright tree form you want. It can grow as a small tree with one trunk or several.
Why are my bottlebrush leaves turning yellow?
Alkaline Valley soil keeps it from getting enough iron, and overwatering makes it worse. Water deep but less often, and add an iron product or an acid-plant fertilizer.
How often should I water lemon bottlebrush?
Once it is rooted, give it deep, infrequent soaks, especially in summer. Let the soil dry between waterings so it never stays wet.
Does lemon bottlebrush need full sun?
Yes. Plant it in full sun, in soil that drains well.
When does lemon bottlebrush bloom?
It blooms mostly in spring, with some flowers in fall and a few scattered through the year.
Why is it called lemon bottlebrush?
The leaves smell of lemon when you crush them. The red flower spikes look like bottle brushes.
Does lemon bottlebrush attract hummingbirds?
Yes. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees visit the flowers.
How cold hardy is lemon bottlebrush?
It is rated hardy to about 10 to 20°F, so a normal Valley winter does not hurt it and it needs no frost cover.
When is the best time to plant lemon bottlebrush?
Fall is best, in October or November, and spring is the next best time. Avoid planting in the summer heat.
Is lemon bottlebrush the same as Melaleuca citrina?
Yes. It is now also listed as Melaleuca citrina. Callistemon citrinus is the older name.
Can lemon bottlebrush be grown as a tree?
Yes. It grows as a large shrub or a small tree. Trained young, it makes a small tree for a specimen spot.
Lemon Bottle Brush Tree for sale in Arizona, delivered to you
Lemon Bottle Brush Tree gives you red bottlebrush flowers and lemon-scented leaves on a small evergreen tree. It is used as a specimen or patio tree. Below is what to expect in a Valley yard: size, training, water, yellow leaves, bloom and cold.
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Lemon bottlebrush tree in Phoenix
Lemon bottlebrush can be grown as a small evergreen tree in full sun. It needs soil that drains and deep, infrequent water. Watch for yellow leaves in alkaline soil.
How big does a lemon bottlebrush tree get?
Plan on about 10 to 25 feet tall and 12 to 20 feet wide. It grows at a moderate pace.
Training a bottlebrush into a tree
Train it firmly while it is young to get an upright tree. It can have one trunk or several. Without training, it grows as a large shrub.
Why is my bottlebrush tree turning yellow?
Alkaline soil keeps it from taking up iron, and soggy soil makes it worse. Water less often and add iron or an acid-plant fertilizer.
When does lemon bottlebrush bloom?
It blooms mostly in spring, with some flowers in fall. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees visit the red brushes.
Lemon bottlebrush tree vs shrub
They are the same plant. The tree is trained up to a trunk or a few trunks. The shrub is left full to the ground for screens and hedges.
We deliver across the Valley, from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa out to San Tan Valley, Maricopa and Casa Grande, and up to Prescott, Sedona, Payson and Globe. See delivery areas and rates.