Leucadendron salignum Cheeky - Conebush

Leucadendron Cheeky is a small evergreen bush of South African origin, close to the intensely exotic looking Proteas, sensitive to cold and slightly delicate to grow. It is a particularly attractive garden plant when the soil and climate are conducive to its cultivation, but also a leading greenhouse plant. This Cheeky variety is characterised by a compact habit and remarkably colourful flowering formed of bright red bracts surrounding a small golden yellow cone. Increasingly used in contemporary or Mediterranean inspired designs - in beds or as standalone plants, particularly by the sea - Leucadendrons require poor, perfectly drained soil and a very sunny site to thrive. Cultivation in large pots is preferable outside the mildest areas; it ise imperative to store the plant away as soon as the first frosts arrive.

Leucadendron Cheeky is from the Proteaceae family, resulting from cross-breeding with Leucadendron salignum, a species found in the Cape Province of South Africa. Like Proteas, Leucadendrons are strange plants in every respect, and need fire to germinate their seeds. Unlike Proteas however, the male and female plants are distinct. 'Cheeky' is a male cultivar. It forms a small and dense bushy shrub with a compact habit. This variety quickly reaches 60 cm (24 in) in height and 1 m (3 in) in diameter. Multiple stems emerge from a stump capable of regenerating after a fire. They bear narrow and long, elliptical green leaves, covered with a waxy bloom in winter and sometimes also in summer. Flowering generally takes place from February to April in our climates. The small flowers, arranged in more or less conical inflorescences, bright yellow in colour, are surrounded by long very conspicuous red bracts, arranged in stars. They colour from the winter, before the appearance of the inflorescences, giving the whole a flamboyant aspect in winter. 

Leucadendron Cheeky is a sensational plant for very mild climates. It will establish in coastal gardens spared from severe frosts, in light, poor, mineral, rather acidic soil. It is particularly suited to a Mediterranean climate with long summers. It will look good as a standalone plant, on large slopes or at the back of exotic flowerbeds, but always in an open situation, in full sun. In an exotic garden it can be combined with plants that appreciate the same growing conditions: the Canary Viperine, the Royal Protea, Grevilleas, Coastal Banksia, or the Fire Tree of Chile for example. In South Africa, the flowers are highly appreciated in floristry as they last a long time in bouquets while bringing fantastic colour.