Callistemon salignus
Callistemon salignus is a bottlebrush that is probably the least spectacular of the bottlebrushes when in flower. The reason why I’ve included it here is because it has so many other special qualities. It grows fairly vigorously, it is very drought tolerant, can be grown in heavy soils that don’t drain very well and the new growth is a dark red colour that can make the plant quite attractive when putting on new growth.
Callistemon salignus grows into a tree of up to 15m or can easily be pruned into quite an attractive hedge. I’ve just planted a line of these along my fence line to grow as a hedge. I chose this plant particularly for this purpose because of the qualities mentioned above. The plants have been in the ground now for about 2 ½ years now and most have already grown to over 2m. I’ve also been tip pruning them periodically as well so that they bush out nicely into a hedge.
This will eventually grow into a dense hedge and windbreak
The other thing about the position I’ve chosen for these trees is it’s along the northern boundary which means that these trees are my first line of defence when the strong hot northerly winds blow during summer. During the summer just gone we had 5 days in a row when the temperature was 40 – 45 C and another day that was 46 C with strong hot winds up to 40kts. These trees just took it in their stride and showed no signs of stress whatsoever.
Callistemon Salignus Great Balls of Fire
Callistemon Salignus also comes in a smaller variety as well that grows to about 1-2m. This one is great for a small hedge and for some reason you rarely see it in nurseries. It’s called “Great Balls of Fire” and has the same red appearance as the tree when putting on new growth. It is well and truly worth a try for someone who was to grow a low, tough, drought tolerant hedge.
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Acacia glaucoptera
Acacia glaucoptera is a small wattle with an unusual habit. It has long serrated foliage that is a dark greeny, bluey colour that intensifies to a dark red at the tips, so it looks quite attractive even when it’s not in flower.
Acacia Glaucoptera
It flowers over winter and has round yellow wattle type flowers that appear along the length of the long stems, so it will put on quite a display when at the height of its flowering.
I like it not only because it is very drought tolerant but also because it quite unusual in appearance and is rarely seen in gardens and nurseries. The other great feature of this little Acacia is that it has a fairly dense habit that only needs pruning if you want to control its size.
It should be grown in a well drained soil or a raised bed and planted in full sun. It also grows fairly quickly to about 1m, has a spreading habit and I reckon it’s pretty easy to grow. Acacia Glaucoptera could also be pruned into a small informal hedge as well if desired.
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Eucalyptus caesia "Silver Princess"
Eucalyptus caesia “Silver Princess” is a small Eucalypt that can grow to only 5m which makes it ideal for smaller gardens. It has a very ornamental weeping habit and a silvery, white powdery substance that covers the branches and adds to it’s appeal. Red flowers appear during winter and although they are not as prolific as some Eucalypts they still very much add to the appeal of this tree.
Eucalyptus caesia "Silver Princess"
My mother had this plant growing in her garden but decided she didn’t like it so I dug it up and transplanted it into my new garden. It’s appearance is probably not for everyone though as it can look quite sparse. Its older limbs have rough cracking bark and it does have a habit of growing as if it is about to fall over. Then again, for me these are features and I tend to think that as far as Eucalypts go this one is very much an individual. You do see enough of them though growing in peoples gardens to realize that it is quite popular.
As far as the unusual growth habit goes this can be fixed by staking the plant in an effort to try and get it to grow a bit straighter. I’m not a big fan of staking plants though unless they really need to and should only be done as a temporary solution.
Another method that may be better would be to prune it into shape. I actually saw a Silver Princess growing in a country garden once that had been coppiced. It actually looked amazing as there was a spray of branches that emerged from the base of the plant and went in every direction from horizontal to vertical.
It must have been about 3m in diameter and was quite a specimen. I drove past there a few years later though and it was gone. It was disappointing as looking back now I wished I’d gotten a photo.
The important thing here is if you do have a plant that you’re not happy with you do have options as this plant does have a lignotuber and does respond very well to pruning.
The Silver Princess is also very adaptable to most soil conditions as long as the soil is reasonably well drained and is quite often seen growing in streetscapes and public gardens. It can be grown as a feature and also looks good grown amongst smaller plants as the long arching branches look great rising above the rest of the garden plants.
Eucalyptus Caesia “Silver Princess” Images.
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