Pride And Joy! Pincushion

Don’t give up on pincushions just because you think you live in the wrong place!

- Anna Cellers

Long-lasting flower heads in yellows, oranges and reds consist of a large number of small flowers with stiff protruding styles – fascinating and almost unnatural to the touch.

Hybrids and cultivars of our indigenous pincushions are grown the world over for the cut-flower trade, and are probably one of the most distinctive and recognised flowers on the planet. In South Africa, where they hail from, you will find pincushions in flower from July to November.

Species like Leucospermum cordifolium, L. tottum, L. reflexum, L. lineare and L. glabrum have been widely crossed with each other and a wide range of modern hybrids and cultivars grown from healthy cuttings are available for the home gardener to plant.

Because pincushions are part of the Cape fynbos floral kingdom there might be a perception that they are temperamental and difficult to grow in other provinces. This is not true, because they fare very well elsewhere, including in other rainfall climates, and once established can even tolerate a little frost. The secret lies in how they are planted and cared for.

General growth requirements

In their natural habitat these members of the Proteaceae family will grow in sandy, nutrient-poor, soil with a low pH between 5 and 6. They have a general preference for dry, hot summers and cold, wet winters. But don’t allow this to put you off as they can be grown quite successfully as long as you make a few tweaks:

Position

Full sun (at least six hours of sunlight) is needed for good flower production. Even light shade will cause leggy growth and no flowers.

The soil

Although some varieties can tolerate clay soil, it is best to pay special attention to good drainage.