Plant of the Month: Bottlebrush (Callistemon)

This plant yields unique flowers whose blooms bear a striking resemblance to bottle brushes.

The unusual bloom of a bottlebrush plant (which is also referred to as a bottlebrush tree, although it grows in shrub form as well) immediately catches the eye — and attracts hummingbirds — with the brightly colored needles that form the flower. The variety of bottlebrush that’s most often used for landscaping has flowers that are bright red in color; however, other species of bottlebrush do exist in different hues.