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Re: Callistemon ( I think) question

At 01:34 AM 9/17/97 -0400, Ken Osborn wrote:
 
>Then someone suggested it was perhaps a Callistemon called `Little
>John', an Australian native and cultivar. The Australian National
>Botanic Garden, Callistemon page
>(http://www.anbg.gov.au.callistemon/callistemon.html), lists 
>Callistemon citrinus as `Crimson Bottlebrush', then further down lists
>Callistemon `little john' as a DWARF cultivar, with Callistemon citrinus
>as one parent.  That may be it, but the only
>thing that bothers me, is that the leaves are describe as being
>blue-green.  As best I can recall the plant I saw had dark green leaves.

There are a number of dwarf cultivars based on C citrinus.  Like you say,
"Little John" has blue-green leaves, but most others, e.g. "Captain Cook",
have darkish green leaves more like the parent.  However all (AFAIK) have
cylindrical rather than spherical flower spikes.

>What have I got and what should I expect?

My best guess (assuming it's Australian) is a Melaleuca rather than a
Callistemon.  Or one of the other genuses in this sub-family of the
Myrtaceae.  What shape and size were the leaves?  How big were the flower balls?

>If these are hybrids
>will I get different phenotypes representing the different
>parents, or what?

It's likely (whether it's a hybrid or not) that the offspring will grow
bigger than the parent; many of these garden cultivars have been specially
selected for dwarfism, and revert if not propagated by cuttings.

John.
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