Orange Bottle Brush Tree
A colorful indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
This orange bottle brush tree is located in Naples, Florida at the Botanical Gardens. The flowers are very unique to this species. The hair like flowers create a puff of color that can be either a brilliant red or the lovely orange you see here.
My first encounter with these trees were in the yard of a family friend. He purchased a few of the trees for his yard. After the first season, his trees looked healthy, but would not produce the flowers. The first year display was vibrant, a really awesome and colorful showing. We were both stumped. What could have gone wrong?
I took to the Internet brain to try and find a solution to the problem.
Was it fertilizer? Water? A disease? Dozens of potential problems and solutions swirled around in my head as I looked into the problem.
After an exhaustive search, I came to a rather interesting conclusion. Bottle brush will flower extensively in the presence of honey bees! My friend had a large plot, and he was surrounded by commercial properties. There were simply no bees nearby to help pollinate his plants.
With a little help from a local beekeeper, we were able to set up a small hive in his back yard. The beekeeper collects the honey from the hive and provides a jar of honey in exchange for keeping the bees. It was a win-win, and the honey was delicious!
