Paula: Pruning on Leucospermum should be kept to a minimum. After flowering, trim off the old flowering stems and, if the plant is growing out of "shape", prune a little bit more into those stems that are asymmetrical at that time. The plant is naturally a large shrub but as it gets older, you can remove some of the lower branches to give it the look of a small multi-trunked tree. Joe

Near Lake Hodges in Escondido, Ca, we have 4 large Leucospermum "Veld Fire" plants which are doing extremely well, though they get shade from Eucs nearby, and the soil is fairly dense. They are about 7yrs old, 7'x7' and covered with blooms in May. (see link below) I made about 50 cuttings a few years ago, but only one rooted (dipped in Physan, Dip n Grow, and put in 16oz plastic cups, 1:10 spagnum to course sand). It is about 4ft tall now and should bloom in 2015. The cuttings were kept outside during the fall, and didn't get the necessary heat & humidity. I just made 16 new cuttings, younger wood, drenched in Physan, dipped in root hormone powder, put in plastic cups containing 1:4 perlite & course sand, moistened with dilute Physan H2O and kept in a sunny window inside this time. I hope to get at least 50% of the cuttings to take this time though won't know for several weeks, so may be wishful thinking. I may put one in a large pot on the deck, but most will go into the ground in well drained sunny location. I would welcome any suggestions for propagation by cuttings if you've had success. I'm just a hobbyist, and not selling any plants, but like to share plants, seeds, and gardening tips. Also, would like to trade cuttings if anyone has a nice red Leucospermum. I need to trim the plants, and have many more cuttings than I can use, and don't want them to go to waste. Here is a link that might be useful:

Looks great, congratulations.

I have two Leucospermum right next to each other - one is browning (to the right of hte lights) and the other is doing fine (on the left). Both went in about 2 months ago - both bloomed wonderfully. Well drained soil (basic tropical plant soil around root ball and then I live on a sand dune a few feet further down - So Cal within 1/2 mile from coast). Ideas of what might be going wrong?