Leucadendron Inca Gold

Looking for a winter pick-me-up? With one step into a field of Inca Gold, you can escape to a ‘botanical retreat’ filled with rays of golden sunshine, leaving the winter blues behind. Yes, Leucadendron, please! Who doesn’t love a burst of sunshine on a cold, dreary day? This popular cultivar (which is absolutely stunning during this time of the year) is believed to be a hybrid of L. laureolum and L. salignum yellow. The rich buttery-yellow flowering bracts (think Illuminating) with red tips do not open wide like many Leucadendrons as they tend to keep a closed tulip-like shape.

There’s no doubt the color yellow sparks a broad spectrum of emotions in all of us. While it can be playful and radiant, yellow can also be unforgiving and ominous, which makes it a wildly fascinating hue.

The many facets of the color yellow reveal its extremely impactful spirit.

Yellow can liven up any space instantly. It is, perhaps, one of the easiest ways to bring sunshine indoors and enjoy the soothing energy of nature while relaxing in your home. Yellow advances from surrounding colors and enlarges any space. It mimics a sun-filled space, creating feelings of liveliness and good cheer.

Leucadendron Heaven

At the height of winter, the leucadendron fields in Rainbow are immersed in botanical splendor. The flowering bracts from a stunning array of species and cultivars flutter through the air like butterflies in search of sweet nectar, floral displays are created in an attempt to embody the landscapes’ beauty, and hints of spring seem to appear around every hillside.

These barometers of the season begin to emerge as winter settles in, blooming from the cold days of January all the way through May. Though often known as "conebush" due to their colorful nuts, leucadendron are considered the foliage side of the Protea Family. Most Leucadendron are indigenous to South Africa, though some varieties have been found in Australia and New Zealand as well. Around 80 known species and countless subspecies and cultivars exist, and all share the same emphasis: the beauty of their foliage. The colorful petals of the leucadendron are called bracts or modified leaves, and the true flower is the cone nestled among their bracts.

Leucadendron Maui Sunset

Leucadendron Senorita

Leucadendron Safari Tricolor

Leucadendron Red Thumb

Leucadendron Candles

Leucadendron Inca Gold

In the field: Leucadendron Inca Gold

Leucadendron Inca Gold, please! Because who doesn’t love a burst of sunshine on a cold winter’s day! This popular cultivar bred in Australia during the 1990’s is believed to be a hybrid of L. laureolum and L. salignum yellow. The rich buttery-yellow flowering bracts with red tips do not open wide like many other leucadendrons as they tend to keep a closed tulip-like shape. Inca Gold are at their peak for color and harvesting during the early winter and make a breath-taking addition to bouquets and arrangements.

In the Field: Leucadendron Safari Sunset

It’s officially ‘Safari Season'! Often one of the first hints of the season in our fields... leucadendron Safari Sunset serves as a gauge for warmer and longer days. These barometers of summer begin to emerge as spring winds down, revealing their deep-red bracts and long stems from July all the way through October.

There’s no doubt, Safari Sunset is the most well-known leucadendron, with millions of stems being grown in numerous countries around the world. A New Zealand raised hybrid cultivar, this mix of L. Laureolum x L. Salignum has proven the importance of crossbreeding in the protea industry.

Like a burst of color in the field, Safari Sunset brings a rich look to floral designs as well. Stunning no matter how you display it, this leucadendron looks great when blended with an array of flowers and greens or even used as a focal flower in boutonnieres. Here are some wonderful ways you can enjoy this fabulous foliage during the summer and well into fall.

In the Field: Leucadendron Harvest

Leucadendron Harvest - it's what we call the perfect ‘winter pick-me-up’! An Australian-raised cultivar that originated from an ‘accidental seedling’ of L. stelligerum! And it is obvious why this Leucadendron is celebrated for its colorful ‘daisy-like’ blooms that are so flamboyantly displayed. The sheer volume of the flowers makes for a spectacular winter show. Harvest’s colorful petals or bracts take on soft creamy-yellow and white hues with a splash of rusty-orange on the edges surrounding the rich yellow-orange ‘true’ flower that is nestled among the bracts. Simply Gorgeous!