Callistemon 'Candy Pink'

Candy Pink Bottlebrush

Botanical Name: Callistemon ‘Candy Pink’ (syn. Melaleuca viminalis ‘Candy Pink’)
Family: Myrtaceae
Origin: Australia (garden cultivar selection)
Plant Type: Evergreen shrub to small weeping tree

Overview

A soft, elegant bottlebrush featuring pale to mid-pink flower brushes and a graceful weeping habit. Callistemon ‘Candy Pink’ is an excellent performer in Adelaide and South Australian gardens, thriving in full sun and dry, exposed conditions. Its bright pink blooms appear mainly in spring, often with spot-flowering in summer and autumn after rain or warm spells. Tough, low-maintenance, and highly attractive to honeyeaters and pollinators, this is a superb native shrub for hedges, screens, or feature planting.

Key Features

• Mature Size: 2.5–4 m H × 2–3 m W (smaller with pruning)
• Growth Rate: 30-60 cm per year under good conditions
• Foliage: Narrow, mid-green leaves; new growth emerges bronze to copper-pink
• Flowers: Soft to mid-pink bottlebrush spikes in spring, with repeat flushes in warm weather
• Seasonal Interest: Evergreen year-round; colourful flushes of pink flowers through the warmer months
• Wildlife Value: Nectar-rich flowers attract honeyeaters, native bees, and butterflies; dense foliage provides shelter for small birds
• Tolerance: Drought-tolerant (once established), heat-tolerant, wind-tolerant, second-line coastal-tolerant; light frost tolerant (protect from heavy frosts in Adelaide Hills or frost hollows)
• Planting Density: Privacy hedge/screen: 1 per metre (down to 0.8 m for very tight screens); Specimen/feature: 1.5–2.5 m apart
• Pet Friendly: Non-toxic to cats and dogs; safe for family and pet-friendly gardens

Where It Works Best

• Sunlight: Full sun for best flowering (tolerates light shade)
• Soil: Well-drained loam, sandy loam, or clay loam; mound if planting on heavy clay
• Water Needs: Establishment: 2 deep soaks/week for 8–12 weeks. Established: deep soak every 10–14 days in summer (weekly in heatwaves); minimal in winter
• Maintenance: Lightly prune after flowering to maintain a dense, pendulous habit and encourage repeat blooms. Mulch annually and feed with a low-phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring. Avoid heavy pruning into old wood.
• Lifespan: 15–25+ years in South Australian gardens with minimal care
• Climate Zones: Ideal for Mediterranean and temperate regions of SA — thrives across Adelaide plains, coastal suburbs, Fleurieu Peninsula, Barossa, and Yorke regions
• Soil pH: Prefers slightly acidic to neutral; tolerates mild alkalinity if free-draining

Landscape & Design Ideas

• Soft, colourful hedge or screen for native and coastal gardens
• Feature shrub near paths, entries, or outdoor living spaces
• Combine with Grevillea, Westringia, or Eremophila for a layered native display
• Excellent for bird-attracting and low-water gardens

Why You Will Love It

‘Candy Pink’ brings a romantic, weeping form and delicate pink blooms to Adelaide gardens — a hardy, low-water native that’s both ornamental and wildlife-friendly.