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Leucadendron, or conebush, is an evergreen shrub from the fynbos of South Africa in the protea family. What looks like a flower is a whorl of colored bracts, modified leaves, around a small cone. Cultivars range from cream through yellow and pink to deep red, and from 2 ft (60 cm) dwarfs to 10 ft (3 m) shrubs, so check the mature size before you buy a plant for a pot.
Most nursery plants are hybrids between two species, L. salignum and L. laureolum. This group, led by Safari Sunset, is tough, colors reliably and is the right place to start.
| Cultivar | Bract color and season | Mature size | In a container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safari Sunset | Red deepening to wine, yellow center late; fall to spring | 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3 m) | Large; keep it in bounds by pruning |
| Safari Goldstrike | Clear yellow; late winter to spring | 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) | Upright and tidy |
| Inca Gold | Buttery yellow with red edges; winter to spring | 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) | Mid-sized, good in pots |
| Red Devil | Crimson to burgundy; fall and winter | About 5 ft (1.5 m) | Compact |
| Jubilee Crown | Pink cones with green bracts; spring | About 5 ft (1.5 m) | Small, long-lasting cones |
| Pisa | Yellow-green bracts, silver cones; winter to spring | 4 to 8 ft (1.2 to 2.4 m) | Grown for silvery foliage |
| Jester (Safari Sunshine) | Variegated leaves, red to purple bracts; winter to spring | 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m) | Color year round |
Safari Sunset: the classic red cut flower
Safari Sunset was raised in New Zealand in the 1960s from L. salignum and L. laureolum and is the most widely grown conebush for cut flowers. The bracts open a pale red, deepen to wine through the cold months and fade from the center to gold at the end of the season. It is a big plant, 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3 m), so in a pot you set the height with an annual post-bloom pruning.
- Start in a 10 in (25 cm) pot or larger It grows fast and roots hard. Move a 1 gal nursery plant into a 10 to 12 in (25 to 30 cm) deep pot and step up one size every two or three years. A cramped pot dries out and overheats in summer.
- Watch one full season before cutting Color arrives in fall, peaks in midwinter and picks up yellow in early spring. Which stage you cut for the vase is personal, so note the dates the first year.
- Hardy to about 25 F (-4 C) Growers rate it to roughly 25 F (-4 C). Under an eave it winters outdoors in a mild-winter city; move it to a porch or a bright room when a hard freeze is forecast.
Safari Goldstrike: the yellow sibling
Safari Goldstrike, often sold simply as Goldstrike or Gold Strike, carries the same Safari name as Safari Sunset but is a different cultivar. Where Safari Sunset turns red, Goldstrike covers its stem tips in clean yellow bracts from late winter into spring. It is upright and tops out around 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m), a size smaller than Safari Sunset, which makes it the better fit for a container.
Nursery labels sometimes carry both names. If your plant's bracts turn red, it is Safari Sunset; if they turn yellow, it is Goldstrike. Let the first winter settle the question and record the answer.
- Two names on one label: go by color A plant logged as Safari Sunset with the variety field reading Goldstrike has a series name on one tag and a cultivar on the other. Record the color of the first bracts and file it under that cultivar from then on.
- Yellow needs full sun In shade the bracts stay greenish and dull. Give it all-day sun from fall through spring and shield it only from hot afternoon sun in midsummer.
- Same care as the red forms Soil, watering and the no-phosphorus rule are identical to Safari Sunset. Because it stays smaller, you can use a pot one size down.
Inca Gold and Red Devil for mid-sized pots
Inca Gold is a yellow hybrid, usually given as L. laureolum by L. salignum, with buttery bracts edged in red that stay cupped like a tulip. Red Devil is a selection of L. salignum that turns crimson to burgundy through fall and winter and stays around 5 ft (1.5 m), so it fits a balcony. A gardener in a frosty inland Japanese garden reported Red Devil shrugging off nightly frost once its roots were established.
- Red Devil colors only in sun With less light both bracts and leaves drift toward green. For deep red, give it an open south-facing spot from fall through winter.
- Inca Gold is about the shape The bracts never open flat, so cut stems last a long time in water. It branches densely; thin a few inner shoots after bloom.
Match the cultivar to your goal
Decide whether you want cut and dried stems, a handsome potted shrub, or something that winters indoors. If you are unsure, start with a mid-sized cultivar that is easy in a pot, learn how the plant behaves, and move up to the big Safari Sunset later.
| Goal | Good picks | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cut and dried flowers | Safari Sunset, Safari Goldstrike | Long, sturdy stems and long vase life |
| Small pot on a balcony | Red Devil, Jubilee Crown | Mature around 5 ft (1.5 m) with little pruning |
| Foliage all year | Jester, Pisa | Variegated or silver leaves look good before color |
| First conebush | Safari Goldstrike, Inca Gold | Tidy habit; yellow holds up even in less sun |
Label wording varies between growers, with or without the Safari prefix. Cross-check by bract color and mature size rather than by name alone.
What to look for at the nursery
Conebushes are sold in bloom from fall to spring. Colored bracts sell the plant, but the roots matter more. Skip plants with roots crowding out of the drainage holes and plants whose mix is heavy and wet; both tend to sulk after transplanting.
- Leaves down to the base A plant that has dropped its lower leaves has usually suffered from wet feet or fertilizer. Choose one clothed in foliage to the soil line.
- Lift it: light is good A pot that feels light was grown in a fast-draining mix. A heavy, soggy pot may already be on the way to root rot.
- Keep the tag Record the cultivar name and purchase date right away. Color timing and mature size are cultivar specific and you will want them later.