his low-maintenance shrub has been a favorite of landscape architects and home gardeners for years. It’s an evergreen shrub that’s known for its long vase life, low maintenance, and vibrant foliage.

This genus comprises roughly 80 species of Proteaceae plants, all of which are found solely in South Africa. They can grow up to 30 feet tall, but most species only reach 30 centimeters, which is still quite large. Long oblong waxy-green leaves cover their stalks. The plant’s “flowers” are really the plant’s woody, brightly colored bracts (which may surround a small cone or flower). The dioecious leucadendron produces male and female flowers on separate plants. These bracts enclose a 16 millimeter cone holding seeds on female plants. The morphology of an infructescence varies depending on the genus’ subgeneric groupings.

Leucadendron cultivars and hybrids are used as decorative cut greens in the cut flower trade. Florists love them for their gorgeous stems and distinctive flower cones. They also have a 14 to 25 day vase life. ‘Safari Sunset,’ a hybrid of L. laureolum and L. salignum, is the world’s most desired Leucadendron cultivar. This multi-stemmed hardy shrub with rich red and green bracts on long stems (up to 243 cm) was created in New Zealand in the 1960s. Breeders in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and California are experimenting with new hybrids.