Callistemon citrinus

Native to Australia, scarlet bottlebrush (also lemon bottlebrush or red bottlebrush) is a large evergreen upright tropical shrub that will grow to 10-15? tall in its native habitat. It is commonly grown as a specimen or hedge in frost free areas such as southern Florida and parts of southern California. It can also be trained as a tree to 25? tall. In containers in northern climates, it more commonly is grown as a 3-5? tall shrub or trained as a small standard. Flowers feature numerous bushy bright red stamens in rounded to cylindrical spikes (to 4? long) that resemble bottlebrushes. Flowers bloom intermittently throughout the year in frost free areas, but more typically in summer the colder parts of its range. Flowers are attractive to bees. Lance-shaped to narrow-elliptic leaves (to 3? long) emerge coppery before maturing to medium green. Leaves have a lemony scent when bruised, hence the species name.