Callistemon “little John” cold hardiness

[KPoff]

Anyone have experience with bottle brush cold hardiness? This was Callistemon “little John”. They had 5 gallons at a local Lowes for $30 so I couldn’t resist. I live in 8A west Texas. At first I was thinking of putting it in the ground in a sunny location but after reading about it they supposedly aren’t very hardy below about 20 F which it will likely see at least once every year if not 10-15 F. Just curious about everyone’s experience with this one. They are beautiful but I’m afraid this may just be kept in a pot and moved inside the garage in January and February.

[Chester B]

I don't think they are hardy for your zone, they seem to be pretty tender.  I killed one at my last place and another large Callistemon I have here and those around town took some bad damage this winter.

If the little john is hardier I would love to hear that.  They are regularly available in my area but I've not seen one in the ground anywhere.

[KPoff]

3 hours ago, Chester B said:

I don't think they are hardy for your zone, they seem to be pretty tender.  I killed one at my last place and another large Callistemon I have here and those around town took some bad damage this winter.

If the little john is hardier I would love to hear that.  They are regularly available in my area but I've not seen one in the ground anywhere.

@Chester B Somethings I’ve read says 8b, some say 9 but also I read they shouldn’t stay below 20-25 for long which leaves me out. They are beautiful plants and it “looks” like it would be hardy but apparently not with cold. I just transplanted it from the Lowe’s pot into a bigger decorative pot and I’ll just bring it inside during the winter.

[Xenon]

3 hours ago, Chester B said:

 

If the little john is hardier I would love to hear that.  They are regularly available in my area but I've not seen one in the ground anywhere.

Was one of the most common shrub/bedding plants used in the area up until February 2021. Public medians, apartments,  commercial spaces, everywhere all over the UH campus etc. The extremely long duration of cold did them in, they never did see much damage in the 20-30 years prior. Great little shrub (bee magnet) and starting to pop up again 

I planted one last spring and it had some minor burn after this past super below average (ugh) winter but is otherwise fine 

[Xenon]

47 minutes ago, KPoff said:

@Chester B Somethings I’ve read says 8b, some say 9 but also I read they shouldn’t stay below 20-25 for long which leaves me out. They are beautiful plants and it “looks” like it would be hardy but apparently not with cold. I just transplanted it from the Lowe’s pot into a bigger decorative pot and I’ll just bring it inside during the winter.

They can handle a short dip to around 15-16F. Longer duration might kill them and/or badly damage. I wouldn't expect it to be reliably hardy where you are even with average-ish winters. 

[Mazat]

On 4/18/2025 at 3:35 AM, Xenon said:

Was one of the most common shrub/bedding plants used in the area up until February 2021. Public medians, apartments,  commercial spaces, everywhere all over the UH campus etc. The extremely long duration of cold did them in, they never did see much damage in the 20-30 years prior. Great little shrub (bee magnet) and starting to pop up again 

I planted one last spring and it had some minor burn after this past super below average (ugh) winter but is otherwise fine 

had discovered this plant in southern ticino switzerland and now i know the correct name. looked good there in private gardens in zone usda 8b-9

[KPoff]

3 hours ago, Mazat said:

had discovered this plant in southern ticino switzerland and now i know the correct name. looked good there in private gardens in zone usda 8b-9

@Mazat they are incredibly beautiful plants. I guess for me I’ll live with a potted beauty that will live outside for 9-10 months out of the year.

[thyerr01]

C. 'little john' is a C. viminalis cultivar so its pretty cold tender; it won't survive 8A/B. The only pre 2021 specimens I have seen in the Houston area were down in Galveston. I think their form is kinda ugly, but they are one of the few semi everflowering bottlebrushes.

The commonly available 'Woodlanders Red' and 'Clemson Hardy' are pretty tough and might be fine with lows in the teens every year once established. My C. pinifolius were not protected this year and were untouched by temps in the high teens in January. They are an interesting colour, but have a very short flowering period.

 

 

[Chester B]

I have a citrinus and I lost the upper half this year.  My neighbors was unharmed, probably due to it being an established plant.  I bought it on clearance as maybe a 2 foot shrub and by the end of summer it was as tall as me, I was not expecting that level of growth.

[greenghost]

I have grown C. Little John for over a decade in 8b Las Cruces, NM. It tends to get bit back over the winter (some years worse than others). But it is now a pretty sizeable plant. I purchased a smaller one last summer in the "bargain" area. It died all the way back to the roots, but is coming back. 

FWIW, I also purchased two C. Woodlander's Hardy Red's from Cistus Nursery online. They sailed through the winter without any trouble. 

[KPoff]

On 5/6/2025 at 7:21 PM, greenghost said:

I have grown C. Little John for over a decade in 8b Las Cruces, NM. It tends to get bit back over the winter (some years worse than others). But it is now a pretty sizeable plant. I purchased a smaller one last summer in the "bargain" area. It died all the way back to the roots, but is coming back. 

FWIW, I also purchased two C. Woodlander's Hardy Red's from Cistus Nursery online. They sailed through the winter without any trouble. 

@greenghost it’s amazing what you can learn on here! I didn’t know there was a hardy version, I’ll have to look it up. I believe my climate is similar to yours but we get a little colder in the winter. I wish the LC/El Paso climate could move east to Midland/Odessa.

[Chester B]

2 minutes ago, KPoff said:

@greenghost it’s amazing what you can learn on here! I didn’t know there was a hardy version, I’ll have to look it up. I believe my climate is similar to yours but we get a little colder in the winter. I wish the LC/El Paso climate could move east to Midland/Odessa.

Woodlander's hardy red is a very hardy Callistemon, but I had it damaged during the Winter Bomb Cyclone that hit Oregon in 2021, which later moved down here to Texas causing the big freeze.  Callistemon "Wetlands Challenged Mutant" however was flawless and I had three.  Easily the most hardy Callistemon I know of.

[KPoff]

4 minutes ago, KPoff said:

@greenghost it’s amazing what you can learn on here! I didn’t know there was a hardy version, I’ll have to look it up. I believe my climate is similar to yours but we get a little colder in the winter. I wish the LC/El Paso climate could move east to Midland/Odessa.

@greenghost it looks like the vortexes don’t hit that far west as bad or as often either.

[KPoff]

1 minute ago, Chester B said:

Woodlander's hardy red is a very hardy Callistemon, but I had it damaged during the Winter Bomb Cyclone that hit Oregon in 2021, which later moved down here to Texas causing the big freeze.  Callistemon "Wetlands Challenged Mutant" however was flawless and I had three.  Easily the most hardy Callistemon I know of.

@Chester B thank you I will check it out!

[KPoff]

5 hours ago, KPoff said:

@Chester B thank you I will check it out!

@Chester B I found the wetlands challenged mutant at a nursery in Portland that can ship to Texas. It says cold hardy to 5-10 F so generally should be good here.