How to Start Bottle Brush From Cuttings

Filling your garden with bristly brush-like blooms, the callistemon, commonly known as the "bottle brush plant," is an excellent addition to any garden. These plants range in color from vibrant reds and pinks, to calming yellows, and they are found in gardens across the country. Bottle brush plants can be expensive if purchased directly from a nursery or greenhouse. By following these simple steps, you can start your own bottle brush plants from clippings and spread these bright-colored beauties around your garden.

Established bottle brush plant

Pruning shears

Peat moss

Sand

Rooting hormone gel

Container

Pencil

Take your desired amount of cuttings from an established bottle brush plant by using your pruning shears. Make all of your cuts on an angle and at the joint of the growth. Use caution when taking the clippings. Cutting too vigorously may damage the cuttings and the existing plant.

Fill a container with a peat moss and sand mixture, and set aside. Mix half sand and half peat moss. This loose mixture will allow for small roots to sprout comfortably. Purchase peat moss and sand at your local department store or garden specialty store.

Dip the ends of the cuttings in a rooting hormone gel. The rooting hormone gel provides the clippings with proper nutrients to begin sprouting roots. They can be purchased at a garden specialty store.

Create holes in the peat moss and sand mixture by using a pencil. The holes should be approximately 3 to 5 inches deep.

Insert the clippings you have treated with the hormone gel into the holes you have made in the peat moss and sand mixture. Fill around your clippings with the peat moss and sand mixture by using your finger.

Water until the peat moss and sand are moist. Maintain proper moisture content for the clippings in order for them to sprout. Over watering may "drown" the clippings and cause mold growth to occur. Clippings should sprout within six weeks.