Cultivars

Unlike Grevillea there has been very little work in developing new cultivars of Hakea. The most commonly encountered cultivar is ‘Burrendong Beauty’, sometimes also referred (erroneously) to as H. crassinervia. It is thought to be a natural hybrid formed between H. myrtoides and H. petiolaris at Burrendong Arboretum in New South Wales. It can be grown on its own roots or it is grafted on to H.salicifolia.

Only 2 names are given in the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA) pages. The first is a description of the registered cultivar 'Kincora' with associated images; these are also available through the Hakea page of the Australian Plant Images Index maintained by the Australian National Botanic Gardens. ‘Kincora’ is thought to involve H. petiolaris or H. laurina in its parentage. The second cultivar is referred to as Hakea ‘Gold Medal’ and is a variegated form of Hakea salicifolia which has to be maintained by cuttings.

A colour form of Hakea multilineata, known as ‘Winter Burgundy’ is also maintained through cuttings. The grass-leaved Hakeas species (H.bucculenta, H.francisiana and H.multilineata) have deep pink to red flowers and are probably the most commonly cultivated species even though their flowers occur in the older parts and are perhaps not as visible as they might be. They are frequently grafted on a root stock of H.salicifolia.

Hakea Pink Lace, selected and developed by the Austraflora nursery represents a selection from the pink-flowered form of H. decurrens ssp. physocarpa.

Cultivation

Further information on the growing of Hakea in Australian gardens can be found on the Hakea page of the Australian Native Plant Society (Australia) or in Ivan Holliday’s (2005) Hakeas, a field and garden guide. (New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd).

The caterpillar of the Hakea moth, Oenochroma vinaria, is shown on The Nature of Tasmania blog page. Note how the two black horns of this caterpillar resemble the horns on the fruits of some Hakea species. Further images of the moth and its life cycle stages can be seen on the Moths of the West Coast site. This is the most frequently encountered caterpillar on Hakea species.

With the increasing number of enthusiasts growing collections of Hakea species all in one place it is likely that there will be new hybrids formed by crosses between species which have formerly never been in close proximity.

Use in floral arrangements and decorative arts

The clustered fruits of some Hakea species can be useful in dried flower arrangements as can some with more unusual individual fruits such as H. pandanicarpa, H. platysperma and H. orthorrhyncha. See for example an arrangement of H. platysperma by New York floral designers, Gotham Gardens

Those with more unusual leaf shapes such as H. victoria and H. cucullata have also been used.

The well known Australian artist, Margaret Preston, made use of a number of the more readily recognised species of Hakea in her works. The striking leaves of H. victoria were used as a subject in a number of her prints while H. petiolaris (or perhaps H. laurina) featured in a number of her wood-cuts. Hakea seeds were also used as part of a rug design.

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