Leucadendron salignum

Position. The South Australian Plant Selector+ gives full sun or part shade, and says it needs full sun for the best colour. It lists clay, loam and sand from acid to alkaline, and minimal supplementary watering, and places it from the coast and coastal dunes to the hills and plains.

Soil. The RHS, writing for British gardens, asks for a well-drained loam or sand, acid or neutral, so the two references differ on alkaline soil: the Plant Selector+ lists it, the RHS does not. A Queensland Government kit for cut-flower growers, which its publisher marks as no longer current, says leucadendrons grown as a cut-flower crop need very well-drained acid soils and adequate irrigation for an economically viable yield, and are generally highly susceptible to Phytophthora root rot, though this varies with species.

Climate. No Australian reference read gives a frost or drought rating for this species. The RHS rates it H3, hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the United Kingdom, a British scale.

Pruning and propagation. The RHS puts it in pruning group 1, little or no pruning, and propagates it from semi-ripe cuttings with bottom heat in summer. For the genus, HortFlora gives seed sown as soon as it is produced and, for most species, hardwood tip cuttings.

The South Australian Plant Selector+ lists it as an ornamental, and the RHS, writing for British gardens, suggests it for cut flowers, containers and coastal or gravel gardens among others. The Queensland kit describes leucadendrons as a group as a cut-flower crop very popular with florists, with a long vase life. The Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden notes that many hybrids and cultivars of this species have been raised in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia; HortFlora names it as one parent of Safari Sunset and lists 'Fireglow' under the species. No reference read gives planting centres for it.

The sexes grow on separate plants, by HortFlora, and the Queensland kit adds that male plants carry coloured bracts while female plants carry cones as well, so check which sex a grower lists if the cones matter. HortFlora notes that 'Fireglow' and the New Zealand-raised 'Fire Glow' are different plants, so read the name on the line closely. With root rot a problem for the genus in the Queensland kit, the guide to nursery plant quality says what to check in the roots. Stock moving between states travels under the state and territory biosecurity rules.