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Proteaceae FAMILY

Hakea sericea

Hakea sericea

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Succeeds in a hot dry position, requiring a lime-free soil[1]. Requires plenty of moisture in the growing season but a very well-drained soil[2]. Wind tolerant[3]. This species is not very hardy in Britain, but it succeeds outdoors in S.W. England[4]. Plants are hardy to about -7°c in Australian gardens but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder wetter winters. They grow well in a Mediterranean climate, with cool wet winters and hot dry summers[5]. Some forms of this species are lower growing with a tendency to sucker[6]. Sometimes confused with H. lissosperma, some plants grown as H. acicularis are H. lissosperma[4]. A good bee plant. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[5].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Germination is usually good. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts[7]. Cuttings of mature wood[2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Hakea+sericea>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Australian Native Plants. — Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. · Collins. (Australia) · 1988 · ISBN 0-7322-0021-0 ↩︎A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.
  7. [7]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  8. [8]Flora of the Sydney Region — Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. · Reed. Australia. · 1993 · ISBN 0730104001 ↩︎Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.
  9. [9]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  10. [10]Flora of Victoria. — Ewart. A. J. · University Press; Melbourne · 1930 ↩︎A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.
  11. [11]Flora Europaea — ? · Cambridge University Press · 1964 · ISBN - ↩︎An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for Europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.