Bottle Brush Plants For Your Garden.

Gardening advice Question
How do we grow bottle brush plants in my garden in the UK. We have two bottle brush plants which last year had red flowers.We have them in pots but during the winter period they have got wind blown.Can you please tell us how to deal with these plants and what we can do to improve them this year?When can they be pruned and how should we prune them?
Answer
With regard to your question on your bottle brush plants,they there are not fully hardy in the U.K and need some protection in hard winters such as the one we have just had.One way to do this is to cover them with a fleece material on the colder nights and if they are in a windy position it is also possible to build a small windbreak around them using 3 posts and some windbreak material.With regard to their treatment now,I would give them a general prune back: this is normally carried out after they have flowered; however,if they are damaged with wind burn,you might as well do it now to give the plant the maximum time to recover.Generally it’s a good idea to lightly prune them every year to encourage more stems, a more sturdy plant with more flowers.Finally a general plant feed will also help to get them on the way to recovery. For More information on growing bottle brush plants Click Here