Red Cottonwood, Hibiscus tiliaceus

Red Cottonwood ‘Rubra’ is a bold foliage feature tree for Brisbane and surrounds, celebrated for its large, heart-shaped leaves in deep burgundy to purple tones. The dramatic foliage colour delivers year-round impact, making this tree ideal where you want contrast without relying on flowers.

With a relaxed, tropical habit and fast establishment, it works beautifully as a standalone statement, a backdrop to lighter planting, or as a soft shade tree in warm garden settings.

Why it’s a feature tree

• Striking purple foliage provides strong contrast

• Large heart-shaped leaves add scale and drama

• Evergreen to semi-evergreen in Brisbane

• Creates a lush, tropical feel with minimal effort

Planting companions
Choose plants that highlight the dark foliage:

• Lomandra or Dianella for clean, architectural contrast

• Liriope or Dwarf Mondo for a tidy base

• Heliconia or Cordyline in warmer, sheltered sites

• Philodendron varieties for layered tropical planting

Growing conditions & care

• Performs best in full sun to part shade

• Prefers well-drained soil but is adaptable once established

• Water regularly during establishment

• Tolerates heat, humidity and coastal conditions

• Responds well to pruning to control size or encourage density

Mature height: approx. 4–6 metres
Mature width: approx. 4–6 metres

In Brisbane gardens, Red Cottonwood stays manageable and lush, making it an excellent choice for gardeners wanting foliage drama and fast visual impact.

Brisbane and surrounding suburbs

Due to the nature of perishable products and large heavy items our delivery service requires a little bit more customer service. We are happy to chat about deliveries anytime. Please note additional costs are involved depending on where the delivery address is in Brisbane.

Your product will be delivered by our Brookfield Gardens' Delivery Team.

We will only deliver to a physical address. All deliveries are made to the front entrance of the property and are set to authority to leave if no one is home. 

If you have special requirements around the date or time of delivery, please contact us before placing your order so we can make sure that these can be met within your expectations.

Heavier Items

Deliveries by Brookfield Gardens' Delivery Team are Tuesday to Friday between 9am and 3pm. This delivery option is only available for fragile or heavier products. We will contact you to confirm a delivery date and time.

Difficult Access and Unattended Deliveries

Please let us know if you have difficult delivery access, e.g. stairs, steep driveways, narrow doorways, or where you think there will need to be two people to deliver due to access.

Australia-wide Products

We are now offering delivery Australia wide on certain products. See our Australia-wide collection here.

Due to the fragile nature of many of our products, we are only able to ship packages up to 10kgs, so that you receive your products in perfect condition. Your products will be shipped by Regular Post with Australia Post, and may incur delays. 

The delivery charges for each state is as follows:

If you are not able to select a shipping option, please call the Nursery and we can arrange a quote for shipping.

Availability Guide

Availability is shown on each product page. Should there be low stock or out of stock, please feel free to contact us to confirm the next available delivery.

Sometimes certain sizes or colours can be sold out by commercial or multiple orders. If this happens and we cannot meet the guideline, we will contact you within 24 hours with an updated delivery date and the option of a refund if it does not suit you.

Payment Methods

Your order will only be processed once payment is authorised. Please note that the payment transaction will take place prior to delivery.

Online. You can pay online using Visa, Mastercard and American Express
Telephone. If you would prefer not to purchase online, you may telephone your order and credit card details to 07 3878 7739
Bank Transfer. We also accept payment via bank transfer

Inspection Of Goods

Please inspect the goods on delivery and notify us within 24 hours if they are damaged or are not what you think you ordered. This gives us the best opportunity to get it resolved for you as quickly as possible.

Please read the full information in our returns and refund policy

Title Of Goods

Goods remain the property of Brookfield Gardens until paid in full.