have you tried www.proteaonline.com? Thats where i've got many of mine. They are an italian site and ship good plants. Without wanting to bring politics into this, whilst we are in the EU, its a simple matter to get the plants. you can just order online and they ship them. The species can be grown f...

Thanks Chez. They are a really impressive flower which is probably why i have spent a lot of time growing them. I seem to have got the hang now although there have been a lot of plants sacrificed along the way! aurea.jpg Aurea is doing so welll now its beginning to block the windows as is eximia sus...

didnt see this chain. I posted a new thread in the public forum showing the ones I'm growing

It is on a slight slope yes. The raised bed is up against a second hand conservatory that i bought and stuck that on the back of the house. Its used for storing my brugmansias in the winter and is insulated enough that it needs no heating. Because its just for the plants, I dont have to worry about ...

I recieved a private message about proteas so I thought I would come back on and post an update. Things have been going well. I've found that they are a lot more hardy if you grow them in a raised bed to keep the roots dry. I've constructed one against the house that raises the soil level by over a ...

I don't know about the origins of this plant but its definately different than the standard species that i've also grown from seed. It flowers on short two foot stems straight from the ground. They tend to die back when the plant is over wintered even if its brought inside.

Rick1965 wrote:I have been very impressed with a Grevillea I bought a couple of years ago so will try some others this year.

Not sure which one you got Rick but Juniperina, Rosmarinifolia, Canberra gem (hybrid of the first two) and things like bronze rambler are supposed to be pretty hardy

I've only ever had four of five seeds off it Jas. I dont know whether thats normal or not. I'd like to find another source of it too. Not requiring a trunk shoudl mean its a plant that will be OK outside here if you just dump a few spadefuls of compost on it to protect the roots over winter. Dont wa...

I was just sorting out my pics and thought I'd ask whether anyone else grew this. Its the 'compacta' form of erythrina crista-gallii. Its ideal for UK gardens as it doesn't need to generate a trunk in order to flower and means you can just dig up and store the root at the end of each year and still ...

Any of the hybrids are supposed to be a lot easier to grow. Shady lady is aparently the most common so I guess that must be easier. Briadwood brilliant though would be the best here as its the hardiest

yes that one does have a reputation of being hard to grow. The thing with proteas is you have to pick the right ones. The most showyy unfortunately aren't the hardiest

yes Dave. its one of the australian proteas. They're actually hardier than proteas so probably a better prospect for the UK milder areas

Its name refers to it being bright enough to be seen from far away

Just thought i'd post a pic of my telopea shady lady opening. Its a strange pink at the moment but should become bgger and bright crimson when its done

Is it a good idea to grow these from seed? I did in the past and they rarely flowered. The modern cultivars are much easier to flower. The one I've found easiest is madam galen. It grows really well in my garden and flowers all summer - mostly on the north side of the plant suprisingly

No indivisia has an orange midrib