Friday, May 10, 2013

Leucospermum cordifolium

I've been looking for a Leucospermum cordifolium 'Yellow Bird' (also known as a Pincushion Protea) since seeing a neighbor's plant in bloom in a brick planter at the front of her driveway.  It's magnificent and looks quite happy with its placement.

A neighbor's Leucospermum cordifolium 'Yellow Bird"

Close-up of the pincushion flowers

Another neighbor has a huge orange Leucospermum growing in her terraced front yard.

Neighbor's orange Leucospermum, photographed in March

I saw 'Yellow Bird' at Rogers Gardens, a nursery in Orange County, last year but the price made me blanch and, when I looked for the plant again this year, they had no more in stock.  I checked other nurseries and also came up empty.  I finally bagged a small plant - actually more of a cutting - at the South Coast Spring Garden Show in late April.  The grower, Big Island Plants, is based in San Diego.  As I understand that these plants are most likely to be killed off by over-watering, I've put mine in a pot for now so I can control that more easily.

Leucospermum cordifolium cutting in a pot that cost 2x as much as the plant

I managed to kill one of these plants years ago.  My fingers are crossed that I'll be more successful with this one.

2 comments:

  1. Yikes! Twice as much? Here's hoping the little guy thrives!

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    1. Local pottery prices are so high I've considered another attempt at making my own (although I wasn't particularly successful the 1st time). I'd really rather put the plant in the ground but I have yet to figure out the right spot.

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