Leucadendron rubrum can be propagated from cuttings or seed. Both methods are prone to problems, as the hairs on the leaves of cuttings as well as the downy hairs on seeds tend to collect water, making the plants more susceptible to rotting. Treat material regularly with a fungicide and water sparingly.

Make cuttings from December to March (summer to autumn). The cuttings should be semi-hardwood, 60-100 mm long, and taken from the current season's growth. Dip the cuttings into a rooting hormone solution or hormone powder and plant into a medium of 50% polystyrene and 50% finely milled bark. Place in a growing house with bottom heat (25 ºC). Once the roots are well developed, remove from bottom heat and harden off for three weeks. Plant the cuttings into small bags and grow on until ready to plant into the garden.

Sow seed in April when the days are warm and the nights start to cool down (late summer to autumn). Dust the seed with a systemic fungicide. Sow on a well-drained medium consisting of 1 part loam, 1 part bark, and 2 parts sand, firm down and cover with a layer of sand or finely milled bark. Seed can be sown in an open seedbed, or in a seedtray placed in a sunny position. Germination begins after two to three weeks. Once two true leaves have grown, prick the seedlings out into small bags. Place the seedlings in a lightly shaded area with good air circulation. When plants are ± 50-100 mm tall, or after one year's growth, they can be planted into the garden. Nipping out the tips of the seedlings will encourage branching and produce a neater shrub.

The best time to place the young plants in the garden is just before the rainy season. This enables plants to establish themselves and send down deep roots before the hot, dry summer season. Leucadendron rubrum requires a hot, sunny, exposed situation with well-drained soil. Add a scoop of well-decomposed compost at planting and water well for the first year.

Once members of the protea family become diseased they are very difficult to treat, and it is better to prevent disease, rather than try to cure it. Make sure the environmental conditions are correct. This includes getting direct sunlight for most of the day, a well-drained soil which does not stay saturated and will not stagnate, and good air circulation ensuring that the above-ground parts of the plant dry quickly after watering. It is also important to ensure that the soil stays cool in the hot months and that roots are not disturbed by digging. A thick layer of mulch or groundcover planting can be used to keep the soil cool and prevent moisture loss. If any of these factors are not correct, the plants become weakened and stressed, and you can be sure to attract some form of pest or disease.

Leucadendron rubrum is very well suited to a hot dry fynbos garden. The grey-green foliage provides a muted backdrop or good filler planting between other brightly coloured flowering fynbos shrubs such as Leucospermum tottum, Erica baccans, Agathosma ovata and Euryops pectinatus.