Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 8b |
|---|---|
| Flower color | crimson |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | weeping |
| Mature height | 15 feet |
| Spread | 9 feet |
| Light requirements | full sun to partial shade |
| Moisture requirements | average to moist |
| Plant origin | import |
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush
Botanical name: Callistemon viminalis ‘Hannah Ray’
This gracefully weeping large shrub makes a unique addition to the landscape; its fine, gray-green foliage, gives it a soft appearance; branch ends are adorned with striking red bottlebrush flowers all season.
Other names: Weeping Bottlebrush
Ornamental Features
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush features showy spikes of crimson catkins at the ends of the branches from mid spring to late fall. It has attractive grayish green foliage which emerges pink in spring. The fragrant narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain grayish green throughout the winter. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Container Planting
Planting and Growing
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 9 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Hannah Ray Bottlebrush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
