Brachychiton rupestris 65cm Pot 325cm Height Outdoor Tree

Brachychiton rupestris, commonly known as the Queensland Bottle Tree, is a striking deciduous to semi-evergreen tree native to Queensland, Australia. It is admired for its unique, swollen trunk which acts as a water reservoir, allowing it to survive long periods of drought — an adaptation to Australia’s harsh inland climates.

🌿 Key Features:

• Trunk: Its most distinctive feature is the bulbous, bottle-shaped trunk, which gradually develops with age. This swollen trunk stores water, giving it a remarkable sculptural quality even when young.

• Foliage: Leaves are variable — when young, often deeply lobed like a maple leaf; mature trees have more slender, simple leaves. They are bright green, turning yellow and dropping briefly during very dry periods or cooler weather.

• Flowers: In late spring to summer, small bell-shaped cream to pink flowers appear, often borne in loose clusters, adding delicate contrast to the bold trunk.

• Size: In its native habitat, it can reach 10–20 metres high, but in cultivation (and certainly in pots or UK conservatories), it remains much smaller, growing slowly and forming a manageable feature tree.

Because of its distinctive silhouette, Brachychiton rupestris is often grown as a specimen tree in large gardens or used as a dramatic feature in dry, Mediterranean or Australian-themed plantings.

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🌱 Detailed Care Guide for Brachychiton rupestris

📍 Position & Light

• Prefers full sun to thrive and develop its characteristic trunk.

• In the UK, best grown as a conservatory or greenhouse plant, or outdoors in summer in the sunniest, most sheltered spot possible.

🌬️ Temperature & Hardiness

• Tender in the UK (H1b) — cannot tolerate frost.

• Must be overwintered indoors or in a heated glasshouse at above 5–7°C.

• Enjoys warm conditions between 15–30°C.

💧 Watering

• Very drought-tolerant once established, thanks to its water-storing trunk.

• In the growing season (spring to early autumn), water thoroughly when the compost is dry at the top.

• In winter, water sparingly — allow the soil to dry out almost completely to mimic its natural dormant season.

🪴 Soil

• Needs excellent drainage.

• Use a gritty, sandy mix such as cactus compost with added perlite or coarse sand.

🍽️ Feeding

• Feed lightly with a balanced, low-nitrogen fertiliser once a month during the growing season.

• Do not feed in winter.

✂️ Pruning & Maintenance

• Requires very little pruning.

• Can be gently shaped to encourage a balanced canopy.

• Remove any dead or damaged shoots in late winter.

🪲 Pests & Problems

• Generally very robust.

• Occasionally may be affected by scale insects or mealybugs indoors — wipe off or treat with horticultural soap.

🚰 Container Growing

• Excellent as a feature container plant, particularly in modern or arid-themed courtyard gardens.

• Use a deep pot with drainage holes, filled with gritty compost.

• Raise on pot feet if kept outdoors in summer to ensure free drainage.

• Repot every 3–4 years, slightly increasing the pot size each time.