Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Bottle Brush plant

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    615
    Thanked: 368

    Default Bottle Brush plant

    Thinking of planting these for chewing/fun. Does anyone have any feedback on if they like them. I planted roses and mine is not impressed......

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Planet Earth
    Posts
    17,915
    Thanked: 13299

    Default Re: Bottle Brush plant

    Quote Originally Posted by Rexie View Post
    Thinking of planting these for chewing/fun. Does anyone have any feedback on if they like them. I planted roses and mine is not impressed......
    I'm reading conflicting information on this plant but evidently there are different
    types of bottle brush. Depending on type some say it's toxic while others say
    squirrels love the nuts from them in the fall. You will need to research the type
    you are thinking of using to see if it's considered safe or not.
    Step-N-Stone
    State Licensed
    Wildlife Master Rehabilitator


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    615
    Thanked: 368

    Default Re: Bottle Brush plant

    Ok thanks, not worth the chance. I grow hibiscus and mulberry but he is getting tired of it. He totally loves the tender oak leaves but those are all grown out now. Do you have any recommendations????

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    East Coast
    Posts
    876
    Thanked: 1057

    Default Re: Bottle Brush plant

    Quote Originally Posted by Rexie View Post
    Ok thanks, not worth the chance. I grow hibiscus and mulberry but he is getting tired of it. He totally loves the tender oak leaves but those are all grown out now. Do you have any recommendations????
    If you have room for a large tree a Linden might be nice. They have a soft wood, but they also produce tons of tiny flowers (not showy-but smell fabulous) which produce little seeds that I call "nutlets" (my term). Dirr's Manual refers to their fruit as "a nutlike structure", so I am not far off. :-) Wild squirrels love to forage these. I have given my pre-release squirrels Linden branches, in all stages (with and without the nutlets), and they are a favorite. Not as high ranking as oak, but still fun as they can eat the tender leaves (people can too), though they have just a little fuzz on them and so may not be enticing to humans.

    The nutlet fun would be much later than the tender oak leaves, so it would give him another season of something interesting.

    Tilia americana is the scientific name, it is a popular landscape tree, but please note, can grow to 60-80 feet. I looked it up and it says it is native in Texas.

  5. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Lighten-Up from:

    Mel1959 (06-29-2016)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •