Leucospermum
( lew - koh - SPUR - mum )
At-A-Glance InformationThese shrubs, commonly called Pincushion, need full sun and moderate water to perform well. They produce beautiful clusters of pinhead flowers that are wonderful in arrangements and are native to South Africa. Blooms are most profuse in late winter and springtime, but if winters are mild blooms will continue appearing for up to 6 months.
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Leucospermum Species and Varietals
Leucospermum shrubs grow best in zones 15-17, 21-24 and H1. To find your zone, click here: Zone Map.
Leucospermum cordifolium (Nodding Pincushion) This compact shrub reaches 4 feet tall and just as wide. Leaves are medium green and flowers make wonderful additions to cut arrangements. Flowers are coral with yellow tips, curving out and then back in. Varieties include 'Flame Giant' (with orange inflorescences), and 'Yellow Bird' (with yellow inflorescences). |
Caring for Leucospermum
These shrubs need full sun to perform and flower well; ensure that your shrub will receive between 6 and 8 hours of sun each day. Leucospermum shrubs need well-draining soil with a pH of between 5.0 and 6.0. Water regularly during their growing and blooming periods, allowing the soil to dry out somewhat between waterings. Ensure that you are not over-watering or allowing water to stand at the base of the plant. Pruning should happen after flowers fade, which is usually in late spring or early summertime. Remove any dead or damaged branches and all spent flowers. Avoid pruning these shrubs too heavily, as this can negatively affect the amount of flowers that will bloom on the shrub in the next year. Apply a slow-release, balanced fertilizer in early springtime.
Propagation
Leucospermum can be propagated either by using cuttings or from seed. To ensure that your propagated plant will have the exact same qualities and characteristics as the parent plant, use the cutting method. If you would like to experiment and see what plant you can grow from seed, just keep in mind that it will not necessarily be the same as the parent plant. To propagate your shrub, follow the instructions below:
Propagating Leucospermum by Cutting
Propagating Leucospermum by Seed
Propagating Leucospermum by Cutting
- Gather your materials. You'll need a clean, sanitized, sharp pair of garden shears, rooting hormone, a pencil, and a 3-inch pot filled with well-draining compost or other organic material. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand.
- In spring or early summertime, choose the plant that you'd like to propagate. Ensure that this plant has had a good watering the night before, as this will improve the chances your cutting will take root. Cut one or more 6 inch portion(s) of the end of a non-blooming branch and strip the leaves off of the lower half. Make a hole in your planting medium by pushing your pencil into the soil. Dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone, and plant it in your pot. Fill in soil around the cutting to support it, but do not pack it down too much.
- Moisten with water, and ensure that the pot has good drainage. Your pot should be kept in warm, sunny conditions indoors (and not in direct sunlight). Water whenever your soil is dry under the top layer. After about four to six weeks have passed, your cutting should be rooted. When you notice new growth, you'll know you have roots.
- Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring, when you can transplant it to its new home. Ensure that the last frost of the year has occurred before doing this, as it can seriously damage your new shrub.
Propagating Leucospermum by Seed
- Keep in mind that the plant you get from seed will not necessarily mimic all of the characteristics of the parent plant. To propagate by seed, you will need a paper bag, a pot or tray filled with well-draining compost or other organic material, a spray bottle and a fork. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand. You will also, after a few weeks, need individual 3-inch pots for each seedling that grows.
- Harvest your seeds. The seed pods on Leucospermum plants are pretty easy to spot, they're left behind after flowers have faded. Once they have dried out and begun to split open, you can harvest the seeds inside. Cut them off of the plant, placing them in a paper bag. Harvest as many as you can, and place the paper bag in a dry, cool, dark area. They will begin to split open and release the seeds contained inside. Once they have been released, take them out of the bag and put them in a container so you can work with them.
- Water your prepared seed tray or pot filled with soil, and ensure that good drainage is occurring. Place your seeds in your prepared pot or seed tray about a quarter inch to a half-inch under the soil surface. Cover them with soil and water with your spray bottle. Place your tray of seeds in a warm area that receives bright, indirect light. A greenhouse is the most ideal climate, but a planting tray inside a window will do as well. Germination usually takes 1-3 months from sowing. Once you begin to see seedlings sprout and they are able to be handled, transplant them to their own individual 3-inch pots, filled with the same potting medium as described in Step 1. Loosen the seedlings from the potting medium by digging down with the tines of your fork about an inch and a half, gently working the seedling up until it is out. Then, replant the seedling in its individual pot.
- Keep the seedling's potting medium moist, but not wet, by spraying the soil with your spray bottle. Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring (after the danger of frost has passed), when you can transplant it to its new home.
Problems and Pests
Leucospermum shrubs are generally pest and disease resistant, though they can suffer from the following issues:
- Aphids
- Scale Insects
- Fungal Diseases
Gallery
Videos
All about these beautiful flowering shrubs.
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Planting these shrubs in your garden.
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How to prune these shrubs.
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How to care for and grow Leucospermum.
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Resources
The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (2012) - Page 409, Leucospermum
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