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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Myrtaceae (Myrtles) |
| Origin: Australia (Australasia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Mauve |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Height: 15-20 feet |
| Width: 8-12 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Melaleuca nesophila (Pink Melaleuca) - This Melaleuca has a moderately fast growth rate and becomes a large shrub or small tree (to 20+ feet tall and about 12 feet wide) with bark that is thick and spongy and peels off in broad strips and branches that are twisted and sculptural; they form an asymmetrical greyish-white frame structure on which the small (3/4 inch long) bright green, elliptic to oblong-obovate leaves grow. The lavender to rose pink pompon bottle brush style flowers appear in tight round 1 inch wide terminal clusters in late spring through summer. Plant in full sun to light or part sun and irrigate occasionally to very little. It is hardy to about 20 degrees F and tolerates poor soil and seaside conditions. Can be trimmed for use as a formal hedge or trimmed up to expose the interesting bark and branch structure. Attractive to nectar feeding birds and bees. This plant come from the Eyre District along the coast southern coast and offshore islands of the Great Australian Bight near Albany in eastern Western Australia, where it is fairly rare in habitat. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'melas' meaning "black" and 'leukos" meaning "white" because the first Melaleuca to be described had lighter colored branches against a darker, possibly burnt trunk. The specific epithet is from the Greek words ‘nesos’ meaning "island" and ‘phileo’ meaning "to love" in reference to the thought that its preferred habitat was on an island as it was first descrbed from Doubtful Island, near Bremer Bay. Though called Pink Melaleuca in the US, its common name in Australia is Showy Honey Myrtle. It was first introduced into California in 1915 by the California Nursery Company in Niles, CA. We have grown this attractive and useful plant since 1979.
This information about Melaleuca nesophila displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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