The last splashes of red from Tasmania's special flower are slowly fading in the bush, but some people are finding ways to enjoy the waratah year-round.

Telopea truncata, or the Tasmanian waratah, is endemic to the state and brightens up the wilderness between November and January.

The flower attracts not only birds and bees but a following of bushwalkers and photographers keen to take in its beauty.

Some waratah lovers are choosing to express their love more permanently.

"It's very iconic," said Huonville-based tattoo artist Kat Scarlet.

"It's become very popular; I've done heaps in the past year.

"Most people I've done them on have been locals who want to have something Tasmanian and they are proud of it."

Honeyeaters like the eastern spinebill pollinate the waratah. ( Supplied: Jill Colgrave )

Ms Scarlet said, as well as inking them on bodies, she sought out the real deal in the wild.

"They are like crazy aliens, they are so cool."

Waratahs on the roads

If you've driven on Tasmanian roads in the past four years, it's likely you've seen a waratah bumper sticker.

The stickers, designed by local artist Josh Pringle, have taken over the roads, with about 13,000 sold since 2016.

About $24,000 of the proceeds has gone to local charities and conservation groups.

Josh Pringle's stickers have become a common sight on Tasmanian vehicles. ( Supplied: Josh Pringle )

"I think what makes the waratah so amazing is the way it stands out in the landscape — the bright red against the greys and dull greens of the mountains," Mr Pringle said.

"I also love that it is related to the more well-known New South Wales waratah but is more like its gangly and wild cousin, as if it's a symbol of Tasmania as this wild place below the mainland."

Mr Pringle has been drawing the waratah for five years.

"I was aware of it long before because my Mum would always make the pilgrimage up the mountain to see them when they were flowering and sometimes we'd tag along."

The flower prefers growing in higher altitudes. ( Supplied: Geordie Jennings )

A special mountain flower

Botanist Nick Fitzgerald said the waratah liked wetter parts of the state, particularly mountains, but was known to grow at sea level in the south-west.

"One of the special things about it is that it is one of our largest and most spectacular native flowers," he said.

"I like the splash of colour it gives to the bush.

"The flowers are such an incredible form, the way they are all curved and the petals are twisted."

Mr Fitzgerald said the waratah was shaped to be pollenated by honeyeaters, and the flower's head was made up of lots of smaller flowers.

In search of the waratah

Mr Fitzgerald said hotspots to see the flower were on the Organ Pipes Track on kunanyi/Mount Wellington, Hartz Mountain, Cradle Mountain, Mount Field, and on the West Coast.

He said December was the best month for viewing but some were still in flower.

Hartz Mountain is a hotspot for finding waratahs. ( Supplied: Brent Scanlon )

A natural mutation has led to rare cases of waratahs blooming in colours other than bright red.

"If you're very lucky, there are yellows ones — I've never seen one in the wild," Mr Fitzgerald said.

"They are a bright yellow flower but very rare."

He said waratahs belonged to the protea family and were distantly related to the South African proteas commonly grown in gardens.

The Tasmanian waratah grows on kunanyi/Mount Wellington. ( Supplied: Charles Chadwick )

Can you grow your own?

Tasmanian waratahs can be grown in backyard gardens in the right conditions, with gardeners rewarded yearly with the bright red flowers.

Gardening Australia's Tino Carnevale said growing the flower at sea level could be challenging.

"It can be a little bit difficult; it usually needs a higher altitude," he said.

"It's a beautiful waratah, it's not as big and showy as the New South Wales type, but the smaller flowers are no less beautiful."

Kat Scarlet says waratah tattoos are increasingly popular. ( Supplied: Kat Scarlet Tattoos )

Mr Carnevale said the waratah had great application as a flowering hedge due to its density.

He recommended buying smaller plants.

"Plants aren't designed to move," he said, adding that good drainage and soil preparation was the key to success.

"They are phosphorus-sensitive like all waratahs; you do have to watch out with fertiliser.

"If you've got the right spot, most definitely they are well worth a go.

"If you're coastal, probably try something different."

Tino Carnevale says the waratah can be grown in gardens in the right conditions. ( Supplied: Charles Chadwick )

Tip pruning and dead heading were also needed, he said.

"I tend not to feed them; in most soils they will do quite well, they just need that good drainage and good amounts of water to wash past their roots and not sit in them.

"They are a pleasure to grow and a pleasure to behold.

"Watch out for their roots and watch out for their food would be my only advice."

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 51 seconds 1 m 51 s Endemic Tasmanian waratahs in full flower

Essie Huxley, the Waratah woman

Passionate gardener Essie Huxley was known as the Waratah woman in Tasmania and had a yellow waratah growing in her garden.

Ms Huxley died in her 90s, and the Essie's Gift waratah is named in her honour.

She was part of a hub of native gardeners in Longley at the foothills of kunanyi/Mount Wellington.

"I met Essie a few times; she was a great lady," Mr Carnevale said.

"She was very into her waratahs and was a great plants woman; she knew a lot of different plants and she had very rare and unusual plants in her garden.

"The Tasmanian waratah really took pride of place in her heart."