Leucadendron Safari Sunshine - Conebush

The Leucadendron Jester, also marketed under the name of Safari Sunshine, is an evergreen bush with a very exotic appearance, appreciated for its magnificent variegated foliage that changes colour and its very long-lasting flowering in brilliant colours. Its cream or pink variegated foliage forms a very beautiful colour association with its floral bracts variegated in fuchsia red and Bordeaux at the end of winter. Increasingly used in contemporary or Mediterranean-inspired plantings, particularly by the sea, the Leucadendron are preferably grown in large pots in cooler regions, as it will be essential to store them as soon as the first frosts come.

 The Leucadendron 'Safari Sunshine' or 'Jester' is a horticultural hybrid resulting from cross-breeding between the Leucadendron salignum and the L.laureolum. All these plants belong to the protea family and originate from the Cape province in South Africa. Like Proteas, the Leucadendron are strange plants in every respect; they need fire to germinate their seeds, but, unlike proteas, male and female plants are distinct. 'Safari Sunshine' forms a dense bush. This variety quickly reaches 1.30 m (4 ft 4 in) in all directions. Multiple stems emerge from a stump capable of regenerating after a fire. They carry narrow and long, elliptical leaves, covered with a waxy bloom. They have a  green colour marbled with cream and a border turning pink at the end of winter when flowering begins, just like the floral stems. Flowering is decorative from March-April to August in European climates. The small yellow flowers, arranged in more or less conical inflorescences, are surrounded by very conspicuous long bracts, arranged in stars, variegated with red. Thus adorned with the colours of dawn, this beautiful bush deserves its name reminiscent of "Sunrise on a safari."  The plant can withstand frosts of -5°C (23 °F) at the peak in very drained soil, once well established.

The Leucadendron 'Jester' is a sensational plant for a very mild climate, as graphic as it is unique. It will prefer coastal gardens spared of severe frosts, in light, poor, mineral, rather acidic soil. Particularly suited to the Mediterranean climate with long summers, it can cope in slightly cooler soils of the southern part of the Atlantic coastline. It will look good on its own, on large slopes or at the back of exotic beds, but always in an open situation, in full sun. In an exotic garden, it can be partnered with plants that appreciate the same growing conditions: the Madeira Viperine, the Royal Protea, the Nolina hibernica, the Grevillea, the Yucca rigida, the leptospermums or moderate growth palm trees like the Blue Palm of Mexico (Brahea armata). In the southern hemisphere, the flowers of the leucadendrons are very popular in floristry, as they last a long time in bouquets while bringing a fantastic colour.