Description:

Long lasting and breathtaking pincushion flowers are great for cutting and make a lovely accent in the garden; like most Protea family plants it does not like too much synthetic fertilizer

Ornamental Features

Catherine-Wheel Pincushion features showy yellow pincushion flowers with pink overtones and pink tips at the ends of the branches from late spring to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has grayish green evergreen foliage. The fuzzy oval leaves remain grayish green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Catherine-Wheel Pincushion is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Catherine-Wheel Pincushion is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Catherine-Wheel Pincushion will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.

Catherine-Wheel Pincushion makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.