Kurrajong Brachychiton rupestris

The Queensland bottle tree spends its early years as an upright, narrow leaved sapling and only swells into the bottle over decades, which is worth knowing before it goes in as an instant feature. What you get in the meantime is a well behaved shade tree with a dense rounded crown and leaves that vary on the same plant, from narrow and simple to deeply lobed. It is semi deciduous, dropping much of that foliage briefly around flowering. It is planted as a feature and for shade in dry districts.

Dry country hardiness, and one thing it will not forgive

Brachychiton rupestris comes from the inland brigalow country of southern Queensland, and it carries that hardiness into gardens through inland Queensland and western New South Wales as readily as coastal ones. Plant it in full sun in free draining soil. Growth is moderate, water needs are low once established, and it transplants better than most large trees because of the water it stores in the trunk. Bare branches for a few weeks each year are normal rather than a sign of stress. Frost is tolerated once the trunk has some substance, though young plants are worth protecting in a cold garden. It is also one of the few feature trees that sits near paving without lifting it, because the roots are not aggressive.

The failure mode is wet feet. A bottle tree standing in ground that holds water, or watered on a lawn schedule, rots at the base, and there is no coming back from that. Plant it high rather than deep, mound the bed if drainage is doubtful, keep irrigation off the trunk, and let the soil dry between waterings once it is away.

Feature trees for dry ground

If the brief is a drought hardy specimen with presence, the alternatives here are pink gum and crows ash. Pink gum is faster and far more informal, a shelter and shade tree for poor soils rather than a specimen. Crows ash gives a dense evergreen canopy quickly but wants better soil and drops hard capsules. The bottle tree is the slow one, planted for the trunk and the silhouette, and it suits a courtyard or lawn where a big eucalypt would be too much. The other difference is time. Pink gum and crows ash give you a canopy within a few years, while the bottle tree is planted for what it becomes decades later. Others sit under kurrajong.

Very little pruning, very little food

Prune in late winter to early spring, before the warm season flush, and keep it light. Remove lower limbs one or two at a time over several years if you want to show off the trunk, since taking them all at once leaves the tree looking stripped and slows it down. Deadwood can come out whenever you see it. Feed sparingly with a slow release fertiliser in early spring for the first few years to build the crown, then leave it alone. Overfeeding and overwatering produce soft growth on a tree built for lean conditions. Keep mulch and soil back from the swelling base of the trunk.

Choosing a size

This plant is supplied in one size, 30L, at $199.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to Australian native trees.