Callistemon citrinus violaceus 23cm / 5L Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Callistemon citrinus violaceus Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Callistemon citrinus violaceus Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Purple Bottlebrush

Callistemon citrinus violaceus

£29.99
Protect from hard frostSun-lovingEvergreenLoved by pollinators
Pot size
23cm / 5L £29.99

FREE tracked delivery on orders over £60

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Description

Callistemon citrinus violaceus is the bottlebrush plant most gardeners have never seen: instead of the familiar crimson, its brushes open a smoky violet-purple, hundreds of silky stamens in a colour that looks borrowed from a jacaranda. Against the lemon-scented, evergreen foliage the effect is deeply exotic yet entirely achievable in a sheltered UK garden.

Like all callistemons it is tough, wind-tolerant and loved by bees. Rated H3, it takes around -7C once established, growing freely in mild and coastal gardens and thriving against a warm wall inland. Flushes of silky new growth add a soft pink shimmer through the season.

How and where to grow

  • Position: full sun, sheltered; superb on a warm wall.
  • Soil: free-draining, acid to neutral; avoid shallow chalk and winter wet.
  • Size: to around 2-3 m; easily kept smaller after flowering.
  • Hardiness: H3, around -7C established.

Grow it beside the creamy Callistemon pallidus 'Bianco' and red C. salignus for a full bottlebrush spectrum, at the heart of an exotic border, in a coastal planting, or in a large pot among our plants for pots. The nectar keeps it in our pollinator collection too.

Nursery-grown, well-budded plants. Winter honesty in our seasonal expectations guide.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

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What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

  • Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
  • It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
  • Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for Purple Bottlebrush

Plant me in full sun and protect me when hard frost threatens.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.
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About Purple Bottlebrush

Callistemon citrinus violaceus needs full sun and moist but well-drained soil. It is half-hardy to around −5°C and needs protection from hard frost.

Good for

Coastal & Exposed Exotic Borders Pots & Containers Wildlife & Pollinators

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

Semi-Hardy (H3): down to around −5°C. Half-hardy; reliable in mild or coastal gardens, protect in colder areas.

Rated H3, to around -7C once established against a warm wall or in a sheltered sunny border. Mild and coastal gardens grow it freely; colder spots should give wall shelter or pot culture. Read moreShow less

Rated H3, to around -7C once established against a warm wall or in a sheltered sunny border. Mild and coastal gardens grow it freely; colder spots should give wall shelter or pot culture.

Position

Full sunSouth-facingWest-facingShelteredExposed
Full sun; flowers form on well-ripened wood, so the sunnier the better. Read moreShow less

Full sun; flowers form on well-ripened wood, so the sunnier the better.

Soil

SandLoamClayMoist but well-drainedWell-drainedAcid pHNeutral pH
Free-draining, acid to neutral soil; dislikes shallow chalk and winter wet. Read moreShow less

Free-draining, acid to neutral soil; dislikes shallow chalk and winter wet.

Watering

Water well for the first two summers, then during long dry spells. Mulch in spring. Read moreShow less

Water well for the first two summers, then during long dry spells. Mulch in spring.

Mature size

Height2-3 m
Spread1.5-2.5 m

Reaches full size in 10-20 years

Growth habit

Bushy

Flowering

Jun-Jul · Purple

Seasonal colour

Foliage

Evergreen

Pruning

Tip back behind spent brushes after flowering; avoid cutting into bare old wood.

Toxicity

No reported toxicity to people or pets.

Native range

SE Australia

Family

Myrtaceae

Also known as

Callistemon citrinus violaceus

Genus

Callistemon
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What colour is this bottlebrush?

Violaceus is the rare violet-purple form of the crimson bottlebrush: the same lush brushes, but in an unusual mauve-purple that reads far more exotic than the familiar red. Crushed leaves release a lemon scent, hence the species name citrinus.

How hardy is Callistemon citrinus in the UK?

Rated H3: happy to around -7C once established in sun with sharp drainage, and thoroughly proven in mild and coastal gardens. Inland, give it a warm wall. For a hardier bottlebrush, see Callistemon pallidus 'Bianco'. Honest ratings in our seasonal expectations guide.

When do bottlebrushes flower?

Early to midsummer, with bonus flushes in warm autumns. The brushes are packed with nectar and hum with bees, making it a colourful recruit for our pollinator plants.

Should I prune a callistemon?

Just tip back behind the spent brushes after flowering to keep it bushy; new growth then carries next year's flowers. Avoid cutting into bare old wood.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes, bottlebrushes take well to large containers in ericaceous, gritty compost, and a pot lets colder gardens move it to shelter in winter. Companions live in our plants for pots collection.

Is it good near the coast?

Excellent: salt wind and bright seaside light suit bottlebrushes perfectly, and coastal mildness stretches their hardiness further. See our coastal plants.

Does my plant come with a pot?
Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.
How big will my plant be when it arrives?
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.
What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.
What should I do when my plant arrives?
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.
Will my plant survive being shipped?
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
Why Grow Tropicals

Plants delivered the way they deserve

Packaged with Care

Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

Backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee.

Perfect for Gifting

Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

Delivered fresh, beautiful, and gift-ready.

Sustainability at Heart

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

Good for your home - and the planet.

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Callistemon citrinus violaceus
£29.99