Callistemon Mary Mackillop

Common Name:
Bottlebrush 'Mary MacKillop'

Description:
Callistemon 'Mary MacKillop' is a hardy and beautifully compact bottlebrush variety that produces soft pink, brush-like flowers with golden tips from late spring into summer. Named in honour of Australia’s first saint, this cultivar is admired for its neat, rounded growth habit and its gentle floral tones that bring a fresh, elegant touch to native gardens. The fine, mid-green foliage provides year-round structure, while the blooms attract bees, birds, and butterflies. Well-suited to Melbourne’s climate, 'Mary MacKillop' thrives in full sun and tolerates light frost, coastal exposure, and periods of dryness once established. It is ideal for low hedging, foundation plantings, native gardens, or use in pots. Light pruning after flowering helps maintain its shape and encourages repeat blooming. A refined and resilient Australian native, it combines ornamental value with excellent adaptability.

Form:
Shrub - Medium
Shrub - Clumping / Grass-like / Mounding

Mature Size:
Height: 1.2–1.5 metres
Width: 1–1.2 metres

Aspect:
Full Sun

Flowering:
Flowers in Spring
Flowers in Summer

Flower Colour:
Soft Pink
Blush with Golden Tips

Key Attributes:
Suitable for Pots
Australian Native
Bird Attracting
Bee Attracting
Drought Tolerant
Frost Tolerant (light frost)
Low Maintenance
Suitable for Hedging
Suitable for Coastal Gardens
Lightly Scented Leaves

Toxicity:
Non-toxic to humans and pets

Companion Plants:
Grevillea ‘Ned Kelly’
Westringia ‘Zena’
Leptospermum ‘Pink Cascade’
Lomandra ‘Tanika’
Scaevola ‘Mauve Clusters’