Anyone know what this is?

[TiredyMcTired]

This tree/shrub is in one corner of our garden, and just keeps getting bigger. I have tried google search on the photo and it comes up as Banksia, but the banksia photos don’t look like my plant. I want to prune it as it is overpowering an acer next to it, but I don’t want to have a go at it until I know what it is. It’s about 4/5 foot high, and quite ‘woody’ and spiky. Next door neighbour is a keen gardener but hasn’t got a clue either.

Its a bottle brush. Look up bottle brush seeds. Does it have a red flower?

Bottlebrush? www.rhs.org.uk/plants/99397/callistemon-citrinus-splendens/details

I don’t think it has a red flower, not that I’ve noticed anyway! I’m off to Google bottlebrush. Thanks! 😁

It looks like a conifer but it's hard to tell. Can you describe the leaves?

The leaves are about a couple of inches long, deep green and spiky. Looking up bottlebrush I think that is definitely what it is 😀

This is an example of why you should use plant apps as you have, as a starting point not as a definitive answer. Banksia is an Australian plant unlikely to grow outside here.

Although superficially it looks like a conifer, looking more closely what appears to be a cone is in fact a cluster of separate fruit around the stem.

Bottlebrush (Callistemon) comes in other colours,including white.