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Erect Bottle Brush

Melaleuca linearis, Myrtaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Pine Paper Bark and Stiff Bottle Brush.

Erect Bottle Brush (Melaleuca linearis), the whole plant.
H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. NC State Extension publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Melaleuca linearis var. linearis. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Full sun
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage, Moist
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Clay, High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt); pH Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No record of poisoning in people is listed for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Propagation
Seed, stem cuttings
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
If you want to prune, do it right after flowering.
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by twospotted spider mites.
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026

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Flowers of Erect Bottle Brush (Melaleuca linearis).
FlowersHinnerk11, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Melaleuca linearis, commonly known as narrow-leaved bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a medium-sized shrub with narrow leaves with a rigid point, and red flower spikes in late spring or early summer.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
SE. Queensland to New South Wales
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Southeast Queensland to New South Wales
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
shrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Perennial, Shrub; habit arching, erect, rounded
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 36–96 in; width 48–120 in
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow, red/burgundy; blooms in spring, summer
NC State Extension, filed as Melaleuca linearis var. linearis · read 13 September 2026

More of the Myrtaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.