Bottle Tree

Sterculiaceae · Brachychiton rupestris

Native to: The Americas

Also known as: Queensland Bottle Tree, Queensland-Flaschenbaum, Narrow Leaf Bottle Tree, Kurrajong

Characteristics

Frost hardy Perennial

An iconic Australian tree with a swollen trunk that resembles a bottle, with slender gray-green leaves up to 10 cm long and pale yellow bell-shaped flowers followed by seed capsules. Mature trees can reach up to 20m tall in their native habitat of central Queensland but are much smaller (4-5m) in cooler climates where they make an excellent feature tree. Bottle trees are evergreen in warm climates and semi-deciduous in cool climates, where they will drop their leaves prior to flowering in spring. Slow growing, very drought tolerant and easy to transplant.

Height: 500+ cm Width: 500 to 1200 cm

The basics

Position: Full sun
Soil: Medium to heavy clay, silt, sand and volcanic rocks

Position

Sowing Seeds

Technique: Direct, Raise seedlings
Soak seed in just boiled water overnight prior to sowing.

Depth: 5 mm

Germination

10 to 21 days at 20 to 24°C

Care

The tree will drop its leaves before the flowering period, which are between the months of October and December. The characteristic bottle shape should develop in approximately five to eight years. The canopy will also thin out during a drought.

Journal

7	4

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