Bottlebrush problem

I got a bottlebrush plant (callistemon) a about five years ago from a fete. It had no labels on it so I don't know what type it is. I put it into a large pot in the sunniest part of my garden (full sun) and it's never flowered. Never.

I feed it with seaweed fertiliser and slow release the same as I do the rest of my garden. It's quite leggy. I want to cut it back but it just seems too woody everywhere except the top five inches of each branch where it still has leaves. There doesn't seem to be any visible nodes to prune back to.

Even though it didn't flower last year it was still green. This year it's closer to brown. However, it does always seem to have tiny buds at the very tips of its branches but they never seem to come to fruition.

Should I just toss it or is there a way of saving it that google just isn't telling me.

Jim_Hodge

It could be a few things. They need full sun to flower and low nitrogen fertiliser. Over watering can cause it to go brown, as can frost.

Native to Australia so it hates frost. I have two standards, and while they are beautiful in the summer I do have to take them in any time we have frost, which is a pain.