The golden spiderhead is a tricky species to establish in the garden and is best suited to sandy fynbos gardens in the Western Cape. Place in an elevated sunny spot amongst a rockery where the soil is well drained and try to mimic the conditions described in its natural habitat above.

Plant out into the garden at the start of the cool rainy season. Do not add any additional nutrients as serrurias are highly sensitive to chemicals and soil enrichment. This includes the average cultivated garden soils that to us look rather poor in nutrients.

Water plants regularly through autumn and winter if rainfall is low. Apply a thick layer of mulch or, even better, have dense companion plantings to keep the soil cool and moist for longer. Suitable companion plants include: small restios and grasses, Leucadendron salignum (small forms), Phylica ericoides, daisy type groundcovers like Ursinia & Syncarpha species, Erica plukenetii and small buchus amongst many others.

Spiderheads are not long-lived plants and require replacing every 4-5 years. Tip pruning after flowering will extend the life and encourage a bushier plant.

Propagate Serruria villosa from cuttings or seed.

Make cuttings from December to March (summer to autumn). Take cuttings 30-50 mm long from the current season's growth. Dip the cuttings into a rooting hormone solution or powder and plant into a medium of 50% polystyrene and 50% finely milled pine bark. Place in a growing house with bottom heat (25ºC) and intermittent mist. Once the roots are well developed, remove from the mist unit and harden off for three weeks. Plant the cuttings into small plugs and grow on until ready to plant into the garden. Plants are not difficult to root provided cuttings are done at the right time of year. The major difficulty is transplanting and growing on where plant losses of over 60% are normal.

Sow seed in April when days are warm and nights start to cool down (late summer to autumn). Smoke-treat and dust the seed with a systemic fungicide. Sow the seed into a seed tray into a well-drained medium consisting of 1 part fine bark and 2 parts sand. Firm down and cover with a layer of sifted sand. Place in a position that receives bright natural light and air flow. Germination begins after four weeks. Once two true leaves have appeared, prick the seedlings out into plugs. Place the seedlings in a lightly shaded area with good air circulation and pot up as needed using a sandy, well-drained fynbos mix. 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 shrublet.