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Chamelaucium uncinatum 'Dancing Queen' (Double Pink Waxflower) - A medium-sized upright-growing shrub to 6 feet tall by nearly as wide with narrow dark green leaves that are slightly hooked at the tips and with a profusion of dark reddish-purple buds that open to medium-sized ruffled double lilac-pink flowers in late winter into spring (medium-late wax season).
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. It is drought tolerant and is hardy to about 25 degrees F. This double flowering waxflower makes a nice unique filler in flower arrangements.
The species Chamelaucium uncinatum, often referred to as Geraldton Wax thrives in the coastal sandplains between Perth and Geraldton in southwestern Western Australia. The name for the genus is thought to come from the Greek words 'chamai' meaning "dwarf" and 'leucos' meaning "white", though the reasoning for this is unknown. Another possibility suggested is that the name is derived from the Latin word 'camelaucum' which was the name used for the headgear of medieval Popes. One would have to have a crystal ball to ask the French botanist René Louiche Desfontaines what he meant when he first ascribed the name in 1819. The specific epithet is the Latin word meaning "hooked", in reference to the tips of the leaves.
This cultivar was introduced by Western Flora nurseries at Coorow and came from the selection within a population of seedlings that resulted from open pollination of an unnamed double-flowering Chamelaucium uncinatum in 1996. The selected seedling exhibited stronger lilac-colored double flowers than the parent and with further trialing it proved to have an extended flowering period, dense flower heads, vigorous growth and good hardiness. An application was filed and accepted for Plant Breeders Rights in 1998 as noted in the “Australian Plant Varieties Journal” (3rd Qrtr 2002 Volume 15 Number 3). We first acquired this nice double flowering Wax Flower plant from Joe Walker at his Obra Verde Nursery in northern San Diego County in 2007 and grew and sold it from 2008 until 2013.
The information displayed on this page about Chamelaucium uncinatum 'Dancing Queen' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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