{"product_id":"leucadendron-devils-blush","title":"Leucadendron Devil's Blush","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost of the garden is at its dullest in winter, and that is when Devil's Blush colours up. Through the warmer months the narrow leaves are green edged with red, on red stems. As nights cool in autumn the whole plant deepens through crimson to burgundy, and from winter into spring every branch tip finishes in a ruff of red to burgundy bracts around a small central cone with yellow in it. The plant is compact, upright and densely branched, far smaller than the familiar Safari Sunset, and small enough for the front half of a border, a low informal hedge or a large pot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe bracts hold their colour for weeks on the plant and the cut stems last well in a vase, so a few plants near the house double as a winter supply for the kitchen table. Devil's Blush is a selection of Leucadendron salignum, the most widespread species in a South African genus of the protea family, and one of the more forgiving in Australian gardens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSun, moving air and sharp drainage\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive it full sun and an open position where air moves freely around the plant. Shade makes it leggy and dulls the winter colour, and a still, humid corner invites the root and stem rots that kill leucadendrons. Soil must drain quickly and should be slightly acidic: sandy loams and gravelly ground suit it, while heavy clay or a hollow that holds water after rain does not. On clay, build a mound or a raised bed and plant into that rather than digging a hole that fills like a sump. It handles light frost and coastal wind, and it does well in the dry summer climates of Perth and the Adelaide Hills and in Melbourne and Sydney gardens with good drainage; on alkaline or limestone soils, grow it in a raised bed or a large pot of acidic, sandy mix. In humid subtropical districts it is less reliable; plant it on a mound of sandy soil with plenty of air movement there, and accept that a long wet summer can still claim one. Water regularly in the first year while the roots spread; after that it copes on rainfall in most districts, needing water only through a long hot spell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFeed it like a banksia, or not at all\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike the rest of the protea family, leucadendrons grow dense mats of fine cluster roots that take up phosphorus very efficiently. That makes them easy to poison: ordinary garden fertiliser, poultry manure and lawn food can carry enough phosphorus to yellow the leaves between the veins and then kill the plant. Use a fertiliser labelled for phosphorus sensitive plants at a light rate in spring, or feed nothing at all and rely on mulch. Keep the mulch coarse and pull it back from the stem. The same phosphorus and drainage rules apply as for \u003ca href=\"\/products\/banksia-giant-candles-banksia-giant-candles\"\u003eBanksia Giant Candles\u003c\/a\u003e and are set out in our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/growing-banksias-and-native-proteaceae\"\u003egrowing banksias\u003c\/a\u003e, even though this plant comes from the other side of the Indian Ocean.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCutting stems and keeping it compact\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePruning and picking are the same job. Cut stems for the vase once the bracts have coloured fully, and when the display finishes in spring, cut every flowered stem back so a good length of leafy stem stays below the cut. New shoots break from those leaves, colour up over the following months and carry next winter's bracts, so a plant cut this way each year stays dense and gives more stems. Never cut below the lowest leaves on a stem, because thick bare stems on a leucadendron are slow to come back. Left unpruned, it grows taller and sparser, with colour only at the tips. More winter and spring colour is in the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/flowering\"\u003eFlowering Plants\u003c\/a\u003e collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 330mm, at $139.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"330mm","offer_id":67671174054257,"sku":null,"price":139.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/leucadendron-devils-blush.jpg?v=1791519275","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/leucadendron-devils-blush","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}