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Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' - A dense evergreen shrub to 4 to 6 feet tall by 3 to 4 feet wide with an upright rounded habit with attractive narrow blue green slightly hairy leaves. A female selection with cones of green bracts that turn red when grown in sun. These cones are often described as raspberry shaped from the top in the same color as this fruit and are most colorful late season from April to June.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained, preferably acidic, soil. Give occasional to infrequent irrigation. Hardy to 23°F. A great short screening or hedge plant that produces long stem (16 to 36 inch) cut flowers. The cultivar name comes from the top of the cone, which resembles a red crown and were thought perfect for picking late season near Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere (summer here in the northern hemisphere). It has a long vase life from 7 to 21 days, which is enhanced if placed in deep buckets of cold water when cut to cool and hydrate the stems thoroughly.
This selection was made by David and Ilse Matthews of Proteaflora Nursery in South Australia. It was first reported as being a Leucadendron laxum selection and recorded in Protea Registry and received Plant Breeders Rights in 1996 in South Africa with this information. In more recent DNA work, such as a 2005 paper in The Annals of Botany titled "Molecular Variation and Fingerprinting of Leucadendron Cultivars (Proteaceae) by ISSR Markers" by Made Pharmawati, Guijun Yan and Patrick Finnegan, there is the suggestion that the parentage of this cultivar is more complex. In most recent listings it is noted as a Leucadendron laxum or Leucadendron lanigerum hybrid or a cross between these two species.
This information about Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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