Spring Protea Gardening 

Spring is a great time to prune many types of Leucadendron and Waratah plants

Pruning Waratahs

Telopea aka Waratahs can be pruned after or during flowering.

When removing Waratah flowers to be used for your vase or bouquets leave around 10cm of healthy stem behind.

Although Waratahs can handle quite a hard prune this is only recommended for large established shrubs.

Often gardeners are hesitant to prune a Waratah that is already growing new shoots from the flower (as pictured right), not removing the flowers can cause the shrub to grow leggy and when flowering become top heavy and fall over.

Also remove any bent or unsightly branches flush to the base of the plant.

Leucadendron Pruning

Many Leucadendrons flower and colour up from Autumn through to Spring when they are harvested for use by florists, However female forms of Leucadendron also develop a cone, hence why Leucadendrons are commonly referred to as Conebush.

Varieties such as Lemon Spice, Safari Gold Strike, Purple Haze, Christmas Cone, Jubilee Crown and Spring Blaze are all female forms of Leucadendron that produce cones, these cones usually develop in late Spring and early Summer and can be used in fresh and dried floral wreaths.

When pruning a Leucadendron up to 2/3rds of the shrub can be removed to shape the shrub and encourage new growth for the following season, this should be done before too much new growth appears on the plant.

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