The Rebel Gardener

The first time I ever saw Brachychiton Rupestris aka the Queensland Bottle Tree, was in nursery. I remember looking at the label and thinking it looked quite a bit like the Boab tree from Northern Australia and thinking that this wouldn’t grow very well with the cool winters we get here in Melbourne.

There several Bottle Trees at the enterance to the Geelong Botanic Gardens

I then pretty much forgot about this tree until a few years ago when I visited the Geelong Botanic Gardens and saw some magnificent specimens of Bottle Trees growing there. All of a sudden I was interested and knew that one day I would have to have one in my own garden.

This Bottle Tree in my backyard is growing next to some Eremophilas that are probably out competing it for water. When spring comes I'll water it a bit more to increase it's growth rate.

Over the last few years though I’ve noticed quite a few of these magnificent Bottle Trees growing in lots of different areas around Melbourne, so I’ve decided to do some research to find out just how adaptable they really are and here’s what I’ve discovered.

They are very adaptable, prefer to grow in full sun, will grow in most soils as long as they are reasonably well drained and will tolerate frost up to about -8 C. They are also very drought tolerant plants but will grow faster if watered regularly for about the first 8 years which is about how long it takes to form their bottle.

This Bottle Tree growing in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens was planted in 1942

Bottle Tree growing in the Children's Garden in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

One of the great things about Bottle Trees is that they make fantastic feature trees with their rounded bottle trunk being the obvious attraction. If you are going to grow them in cold areas they can also be semi deciduous which can also add to their appeal.

The Bottle Tree can also make a great Bonsai specimen. Here are some examples of some that have been grown for that very purpose.

Bonsai

Bottle

Trees

I’ve also had one growing a pot for about two years and have recently decided to turn it into a Bonsai Bottle Tree.

So there you have it Brachychiton Rupestris aka the Queensland Bottle Tree. I reckon it’s a fantastic looking tree and if you’d like a feature tree that is adaptable and very drought tolerant then the Bottle tree would be definitely one to consider.

If you’d like some more information on the Queensland Bottle Tree, Brachychiton Rupestris then check out Bottle Tree Plantations.

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