Kurrajong Brachychiton Jerilderie Red

Jerilderie Red is a selected Brachychiton hybrid that carries the flame tree's clusters of waxy red bells on a frame with kurrajong toughness behind it. Flowering comes as the weather warms through late spring and early summer, and because the tree drops leaf then, the bells sit on bare branches where they read from a long way off. Leaf shape varies on the one tree, from broad and entire to deeply lobed. It goes in as a feature and shade tree where a pure flame tree would sulk.

Why it flowers when the flame tree will not

The usual complaint about Illawarra flame trees is that they flower when they feel like it, often not for years and then only in some seasons. This selection takes most of that guesswork out and brings better drought and cold tolerance from the kurrajong side of the family, so it holds up through the Riverina, northern Victoria, inland New South Wales and the drier parts of Western Australia where the pure species struggles. Full sun, low water once established, and drainage matters far more than soil richness. Plant it where it can stay, because it resents root disturbance and does not shift happily once settled.

The failure mode is misreading the leaf drop. It is semi deciduous and thins or bares itself around flowering, which is normal and not a sign of stress. Owners see a bare tree in early summer, assume drought, and start watering heavily into soil that is already moist, which is how an otherwise tough tree ends up with root rot. Leave the hose alone through the leafless weeks and let the new foliage come away with the flowering.

Jerilderie Red against the straight species

Set against Brachychiton populneus, the trade is flower for scale: populneus carries cream bells freckled maroon and grows into a bigger, longer lived paddock tree, while this one is showier and sits more comfortably in a garden or on a driveway. Set against Brachychiton discolor, the trade is colour and hardiness: the Lacebark gives pink bells and large felted leaves but wants a warm frost free site, where Jerilderie Red takes cold and dry country in its stride. Choose this one when you want red flowering that turns up reliably and a tree that will cope inland.

Light pruning and a careful hand with fertiliser

Prune after flowering, once the new leaves are away, and keep it to structure: a single leader, well spaced scaffold limbs, and the lower branches lifted gradually if you want to walk or park under it. Avoid heavy cuts into old wood on an established tree. Feed in early spring with a low phosphorus slow release fertiliser suited to natives, water through the first two summers to get roots down, then treat it as a dry country tree and leave it be. Mulch well and keep the mulch back off the trunk. More of the group sits under kurrajong.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 4 sizes, from 330mm up to 100L, priced from $149.00 to $1039.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to Australian native trees.