Friday

The unusual Waratah from Australia

Waratah is the Aboriginal word for the NSW Waratah Telopea speciosissima.

Telopea is from the Greek telepos meaning "seen from afar". It is a spectacular slender, erect shrub, to 6' tall and about 3' across. It has stiff, wedge-shaped and usually coarsely toothed, dark green, leathery leaves to 6" long.
The large, bright crimson flower heads consist of many small flowers densely packed into conical or peaked dome-shaped heads to 6" across, and surrounded by a collar of large red, smooth bracts. The ‘flower’ is in fact a conflorescence that comprises, depending on the species, as many as 240 individual flowers.
It flowers during spring, October to November. Makes an excellent long lasting cut flower. Hardy to 25 F. Needs well drained soil.



Plant and Seed Sources: 

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