Leucospermum cordifolium Carnival Red

The Leucospermum ‘Carnival Red’, also known as Pin Cushion Protea, is a South African bush related to proteas, spectacular, exotic, highly ornamental, but delicate to cultivate. This compact hybrid variety offers an unusually long spring flowering period, made of red and orange inflorescences. It can make a magnificent specimen in coastal gardens spared from frost. Mainland gardeners will appreciate its small size for cultivation in a container on the terrace, to be stored away in winter.

The Leucospermum 'Carnival Red' belongs to the protea family, just like the Grevillea and the Protea. The Leucospermum is native to South Africa, where it is found in the wild in coastal heathlands and sclerophyllous (dry) forests. It spontaneously develops on sandy, acidic, leached and draining soils, but it adapts very well to both rocky and clayey (non-limestone) or more loamy soils. Its appearance and morphology vary greatly depending on its habitat, there are several subspecies and ecotypes.

This small shrub, with a bushy and ramified habit, of rather slow growth, generally forms a rounded crown. It will on average reach 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in all directions, depending on growing conditions. Its branches carried on one or more trunks with corky bark are covered with tough and glabrous leaves, of medium green. They are densely spiralled around the stem. The flowering takes place from March to May, it can be a little delayed depending on the climate. It is not uncommon for the bush to flower, more sporadically, outside these periods, depending on the regions. The pin cushion inflorescences are scarlet red mixed with orange towards the centre, so much so that one would think the plant is covered with small fireballs! These flowers are very popular with pollinating insects. Most species of Leucospermum are pyrophytes, meaning they need the heat of fire to burst their fruits and release the seeds.

The Leucospermum ‘Carnival Red’ is a quite sensational plant that does not leave anyone indifferent. Despite its lack of hardiness (up to -3 °C for short periods), this bush is worth trying in coastal gardens, in sandy and poor soil, regularly dried out. Particularly adapted to the Mediterranean climate, it is content with poor, dry to arid soils. This compact variety will look magnificent planted in a dry rock garden and of course in a pot on a terrace, but always in an open situation, in full sun. It will also be appreciated for its long vase life to compose fabulous bouquets with bright colours.

An original root system, adapted to poor and dry soils:

Plants that grow in a soil poor in nutrients often form a symbiosis with soil fungi that promote the absorption of water and nutrients. But Proteaceae have chosen another strategy: they develop a large amount of special lateral roots along their roots. These roots are called proteoid, and are induced by rain, they develop under the pile of dead leaves that cover the base of the plant. The rain promotes the decomposition of the leaves which results in the release of nutrients. These ephemeral roots usually dry up at the end of the growth period. They have a water and nutrient absorption activity twice as high as "normal" roots.