Melaleuca viminalis Seeds | Weeping Bottlebrush
LATIN NAME: Melaleuca viminalis
COMMON NAME: Weeping Bottlebrush
Plant Profile
Melaleuca viminalis is the bottlebrush of gardens, and the name describes the flower exactly: a cylindrical spike of red stamens, with the petals reduced to almost nothing. The branches droop, which gives the crown a weeping shape, and the leaves are narrow, stiff and aromatic. It grows as a large shrub or small tree to eight metres, often with several stems from the base.
The species is native to the banks of rivers and creeks in eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria, and it is one of the hardiest of the bottlebrushes. It was long known as Callistemon viminalis, and the genus Callistemon has been merged into Melaleuca on molecular evidence, which is why the name on a label may be either.
Science & Biotechnology
The flower is built around the stamens. What looks like a brush is a mass of coloured filaments, and the petals are small and fall early. The nectar is produced at the base of each stamen, and the spike is visited by honeyeaters, by lorikeets and by insects, which is why the plant is used in bird-friendly gardens.
The genus is adapted to fire and to flooding. Many species hold their seed in woody capsules that open only when the branch dies or is scorched, and the seed is released onto bare, wet ground after a fire. The bark is papery and peels in strips, and the leaves contain an essential oil rich in cineole, similar to that of the related tea tree.
Uses & Benefits
The plant is grown as an ornamental for the flowers and for the birds they attract, and it is used in hedges, in windbreaks and in roadside plantings. It tolerates waterlogging and poor drainage, which makes it useful in a wet corner of a garden.
In Australia the leaf was used as a tea and as a wash for skin complaints by Aboriginal peoples, and the oil has been examined for antimicrobial activity. The wood is hard and is used for small tools and for fencing, but the trees are too small for timber. The species is not a commercial crop beyond the nursery trade.
Growing from Seed
Seed is tiny and should be surface-sown on a moist mix at 20 to 25 degrees; germination is in two to four weeks. Cuttings of half-ripe wood in summer are the way to keep a selected flower colour, and they root readily under mist.
The plant wants full sun and a moist soil, and it tolerates flooding and clay. It is hardy to about minus seven, though the flowers are damaged by hard frost. Prune after flowering to keep it dense, and do not cut into old, bare wood, since the plant does not resprout from it reliably. It also tolerates salt wind on the coast.
Our Take
A bird magnet for a wet corner, flowering through summer and tolerating ground that would drown most shrubs. It will take the wet.
Related Reading
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