Willow bottlebrush (white bottlebrush)
Callistemon salignus · also called White bottlebrush
The willow bottlebrush, also called white bottlebrush, is a local native with papery bark, soft drooping leaves and creamy-white bottlebrush flowers in spring. Its new growth flushes pink, and honeyeaters visit the nectar-rich brushes. It grows naturally along creeks and river flats, so it handles damp soil, and Brisbane City Council lists it as a street tree for wider verges.
- Native to South East Queensland
- 12 to 20 m tall
- Flowers September to February
Willow bottlebrush at a glance
- Height
- 12 to 20 m
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Flowers
- Cream, white, September to February
- Roots
- Aggressive
- Origin
- Creeks and river flats from southern NSW north to about Bundaberg in Queensland
- Power lines
- Not on the council's list for under power lines
- Family
- Myrtaceae
How to identify a willow bottlebrush
Willow bottlebrush is a tree with papery, peeling bark, much like a paperbark, and soft, drooping foliage. Its leaves are narrow and pointed at both ends, 6 to 10 cm long, and new growth is bright pink to purplish. The flowers are cream to pale yellow brushes about 5 cm long at the branch ends; the stem keeps growing past each brush, leaving a cluster of small woody capsules behind. Outside flowering time, the papery bark and pink new shoots are the easiest clues.
Growing a willow bottlebrush in Brisbane
Willow bottlebrush is a local native that grows naturally on low-lying river flats and along creeks, so it handles damp, heavy soil and short spells of wet ground. Once established it also copes with long dry periods. Brisbane City Council lists it for coastal, wetland and riparian street plantings, with a medium crown, but not under power lines. Council allows for a height of 12 to 20 metres, while botanical sources describe a smaller tree of about 3 to 10 metres.
What to watch out for
Bottlebrush roots seek out water: Urban Utilities advises against planting bottlebrushes near sewer pipes, so keep this tree well away from sewers and drains. It can also self-seed into garden beds and nearby bushland. Allow room too, because council's street tree list plans for 12 to 20 metres.
- Seedlings. It can self-seed readily in gardens and nearby bushland.
Pruning and care
Plant in full sun. It grows on most soils and tolerates damp ground, but water young trees through dry spells. Snip off spent brushes at the base of the spike after flowering to encourage more flowers and a tidier shape. It takes pruning well and can be cut back hard to a rounded, smaller plant if it gets straggly. Pull out self-sown seedlings in garden beds. High pruning or removal of a large tree is a job for a qualified arborist.
How tall does a white bottlebrush grow?
When does the willow bottlebrush flower?
Are bottlebrush roots invasive?
Is willow bottlebrush a Callistemon or a Melaleuca?
Sources and credits
- Street tree species (open data) Brisbane City Council
- Callistemon salignus, New South Wales Flora Online PlantNET, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
- Callistemon salignus Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)
- Callistemon salignus Australian Plants Society NSW
- Bottlebrush (fact sheet) Burke's Backyard
- Ipswich green thumbs urged to beware of thirsty tree roots (quoting Urban Utilities) Ipswich First (Ipswich City Council)
- Callistemon salignus species page Atlas of Living Australia
Photo: Michael Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This profile updates sheet 40 of the plant profile booklet made for Colourful Tree Lopping in 2013. We checked every fact against current sources and rewrote it for the guide.
Checked October 2026. Weed listings and council rules change: check the council's and the Queensland Government's pages before you act.
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