Leucadendron 'Jester' (Sunshine Conebush) - An evergreen shrub to 4 to 5 feet tall and wide with showy, rich red bracts that sit atop branches of variegated foliage in late winter into spring. One look at 'Jester' and one can understand why it is so named as it is definitely a clown in the garden, sporting colors of bright pink, cream and green.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently once established. This new cultivar is a sport of the popular and durable Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', a hybrid between Leucadendron laureolum and Leucadendron salignum, and it should be able to handle similar conditions as this durable cultivar does, including tolerating some frost and temperatures down to the mid 20s at least, and be able to handle some alkalinity and clay soils. Its other name, 'Safari Sunshine' is also nice as a reference to all of these colors and is a nod to it being a sport of 'Safari Sunset', though it is less vigorous and has a smaller mature stature. Cut branches are prized for use in arrangements and foliage material.
Leucadendron 'Jester' was originally introduced into the trade by Duncan & Davies (New Zealand) in 1986 with the name 'Jester' and was granted protection under Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) in New Zealand and South Africa under this name. In Brian Matthews' The Protea Book Matthews notes that 'Jester' and 'Safari Sunshine' are essentially the same plant. We received our plants as 'Safari Sunshine' from Dennis Perry and listed it under this name from 2003 when we first started growing it until 2008 when we changed the name to 'Jester' to a avoid confusion.
The information about Leucadendron 'Jester' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.
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