Bottlebrush
Callistemon species · Myrtaceae
Do you need a permit?
Bottlebrush is a protected tree in effectively every council Pro Climbing Tree Services covers. Expect to need a tree permit, or a development application where the property is heritage listed or in a heritage conservation area.
How to identify it
Named for the dense cylindrical flower spikes that look exactly like a bottle brush, usually crimson but also pink, white or green depending on the species. Narrow stiff leaves, often with a sharp point. Woody seed capsules cluster along the stems and persist for years.
Where it grows in Sydney
Planted in almost every Sydney suburb as a hardy small tree or screen, and naturally occurring along creek lines. Very common in Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Georges River and the Hills District.
Common problems
- Frequently planted under powerlines and then repeatedly hard pruned into a knuckled shape
- Spent flowers and woody capsules create persistent litter
- Attracts large numbers of birds and bees when flowering
- Often multi stemmed and leans with age
- Usually falls under council size thresholds, but not always
What removal involves
Small, soft timbered and quick work. The question worth checking first is size, because several councils capture trees from 3m upward. Georges River starts at 3m or a 100mm trunk at ground level and Waverley at 3m in height or canopy spread, so a mature bottlebrush is often protected even though it reads as a shrub.
Council permit rules, council by council
Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council's size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
| Council | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Beaches | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Ku-ring-gai | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Hornsby Shire | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| The Hills Shire | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules |
| Blacktown City | Permit required | Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules |
| North Sydney | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Willoughby | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Lane Cove | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| City of Ryde | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Hunters Hill | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| City of Sydney | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Inner West | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Woollahra | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Waverley | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Randwick | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Bayside | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Georges River | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Strathfield | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Burwood | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
Frequently asked questions
It looks like a shrub. Do I really need a permit?
Possibly. Georges River protects anything 3m or more in height, 100mm in diameter at ground level, or with a 3m branch spread, and Waverley uses a 3m trigger too. Measure before you assume.
Can it be cut back hard?
Callistemon takes hard pruning better than most natives and will usually reshoot from old wood, but repeated heavy cuts produce a congested knuckled framework. Staged reduction gives a better long term result.
Commonly confused with
- Broad-Leaved Paperbark Same family and similar bottlebrush flowers. Paperbark has papery layered bark, Callistemon does not
Related species
Important note on council rules
This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by Yercaud-elango via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Need council approval? We handle the application.
Most councils will not accept a removal application without species identification, photographs and a stated reason. We prepare and lodge the lot, then carry out the work once it is approved. One call, one invoice, no forms to work out yourself.