Callistemon pallidus - lilac flower form

The flowers on this Australian bottlebrush are not for the faint of heart, while mildly referred to as lilac the screaming pink flowers are quite the statement, luckily the muted green to blue-green needle-like leaves pair very well providing a stolid year round grounding to its summertime rave scene excesses. Truly a fantastic group of shrubs that should be seen more in a vein similar to its oft-desired countrymen Grevillea especially in increasingly hot, dry, and/or deer-ridden areas. Let this be the bright colored scion to extoll the many virtues of its brethren. Hardy and adaptable in zone 8 and higher but potentially doable in colder climes if you don't mind a reset and reshoot every once in a while on the harsher years.