Plant Library

Other Names:  Galpin's Leucadendron

Description:

This flowering shrub, cousin to the Protea family, has narrow, silvery, fine foliage; male flowers are yellow pom-poms, and female flowers are silvery cones; interesting coral-red stems compliment the silvery leaves; avoid phosphorus fertilizers

Ornamental Features

Galpin's Conebush features showy silver flowers with yellow overtones and pink bracts at the ends of the branches in early spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has attractive silver foliage edged in gray which emerges grayish green in spring. The narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain silver throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Galpin's Conebush is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Galpin's Conebush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Galpin's Conebush will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for poor, alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.

Galpin's Conebush makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.