I recently bought a small King Protea at Akamba. It was about 6inches in height at the time but has now doubled in size.
What I would like to know is should I pinch out the growing point to encourage side shoots as I don't want to end up with a tall, leggy plant. Any other cultivation advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Ed
King Protea cultivation
King Protea cultivation
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dave2166
Re: King Protea cultivation
i've tried them in Lancashire, but they just don't survive our wet cold winters..
so i hope you've got a greenhouse or conservatory to overwinter
try here for some info
http://coolexotics.com/articles/article ... aceae.html
http://www.kew.org/ksheets/proteas.html
http://protea.worldonline.co.za/growess.html
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/proteacyna.html
so i hope you've got a greenhouse or conservatory to overwinter
try here for some info
http://coolexotics.com/articles/article ... aceae.html
http://www.kew.org/ksheets/proteas.html
http://protea.worldonline.co.za/growess.html
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/proteacyna.html
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Adrian
Re: King Protea cultivation
PM Martin (Bodster) if he doesnt reply here as hes well up on his Proteas.
I also tried one from Akamba last year but its dead now, it was coming into flower when I bought it so at least I had the best bit of it.
I also tried one from Akamba last year but its dead now, it was coming into flower when I bought it so at least I had the best bit of it.
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metalhammer
Re: King Protea cultivation
Protea's have high light requirements,so outside for as much time as possible,& during winter,keep in a basically frost free but brightly lit greenhouse.
Soil,needs to be acidic,free draining with no phosphate present.Trevena Cross nursery has a specialist Protea fertiliser.I remember some years back a guy called Noel Kingsbury who was based in Bristol who used to grow Protea,Banksia & relatives & he recommended using dreid blood for fertiliser as it provides only nitrogen.Most members of the Protea family grow on ancient soils that are deficent in most elements.Phosphate present in fertiliser usually kills the roots.
As for pinching the top out,I wouldn't,afteral it's only growing how it would grow in the wild & they usually branch out from the base later on,making a clump.
metalhammer.
Soil,needs to be acidic,free draining with no phosphate present.Trevena Cross nursery has a specialist Protea fertiliser.I remember some years back a guy called Noel Kingsbury who was based in Bristol who used to grow Protea,Banksia & relatives & he recommended using dreid blood for fertiliser as it provides only nitrogen.Most members of the Protea family grow on ancient soils that are deficent in most elements.Phosphate present in fertiliser usually kills the roots.
As for pinching the top out,I wouldn't,afteral it's only growing how it would grow in the wild & they usually branch out from the base later on,making a clump.
metalhammer.
Re: King Protea cultivation
Many thanks for the suggestions and help. Sounds like it's going to be impossible to keep one alive outside through the winter especially if they're going to continue like the past two have been.
I'm going to be particularly careful with regard to using fertiliser and I'll get some dried blood from Wilkos as soon as I can. That Protea food from Trevenna Cross might be worth getting too. I'm gonna stick a big label on the pot to remind me not to use any other stuff.
Although I always buy peat free composts I think that when it needs potting up I'll get a small bag of peat as this should be acidic as well as being very low in nutrients.
While we were at Akamba, the wife and I took a fancy to a very nice Leucadendron argenteum and bought it as well. I suppose it reminded us of our frequent trips to the Scillies where we often marvel at the beautiful specimens over there. Don't suppose that could be planted out either.
I'm going to be particularly careful with regard to using fertiliser and I'll get some dried blood from Wilkos as soon as I can. That Protea food from Trevenna Cross might be worth getting too. I'm gonna stick a big label on the pot to remind me not to use any other stuff.
Although I always buy peat free composts I think that when it needs potting up I'll get a small bag of peat as this should be acidic as well as being very low in nutrients.
While we were at Akamba, the wife and I took a fancy to a very nice Leucadendron argenteum and bought it as well. I suppose it reminded us of our frequent trips to the Scillies where we often marvel at the beautiful specimens over there. Don't suppose that could be planted out either.
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- In Carreg Dhu gardens, St Marys
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metalhammer
Re: King Protea cultivation
Not a chance,even more tender than your King Protea.Treat it the same,same compost & feeding regime.Only issue is they can suddenly die for no apparent reason.Some Protea's are just about growable outside in parts of Cornwall & southern Devon below Dartmoor & possibly Torbay,but your Leucadendron would be inpossible.Grow it in a large container & move outside for warmer months.They usually grow about 12-15" per year.
That having been said,they are simply stunning & worth pretty much any effort to grow them.There are some Leucadendrons that are hardier,but not as showy.Look around for Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset',said to be hardy to -7c,but has fantastic flower color.
metalhammer.
That having been said,they are simply stunning & worth pretty much any effort to grow them.There are some Leucadendrons that are hardier,but not as showy.Look around for Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset',said to be hardy to -7c,but has fantastic flower color.
metalhammer.
Last edited by metalhammer on Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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metalhammer
Re: King Protea cultivation
I feel so guilty at what I said,feel like I'm the harbinger of doom.
Once you understand there soil & fertiliser requirements & the fact they aren't overly hardy,they aren't particularly difficult to grow,having said that,I have got a Protea cynaroides(king protea)through outside down to -5c,with some minor leaf damage.I grew one to near flowering size about 20 years back when I was very much a beginner with such plants.Mine died through getting whacked with a -9c frost,this was inside my greenhouse,the heater failed on a very cold night.
I have only recently decided to try again with Protea's.
metalhammer.
Once you understand there soil & fertiliser requirements & the fact they aren't overly hardy,they aren't particularly difficult to grow,having said that,I have got a Protea cynaroides(king protea)through outside down to -5c,with some minor leaf damage.I grew one to near flowering size about 20 years back when I was very much a beginner with such plants.Mine died through getting whacked with a -9c frost,this was inside my greenhouse,the heater failed on a very cold night.
I have only recently decided to try again with Protea's.
metalhammer.
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metalhammer
Re: King Protea cultivation
If you join the EPS forum & click on downloadable Chamerops,if you download issue 53,you'll find my new propagator on there.
edit,if you go to issue 51,you'll find description of my set-up used in my hotwater tank cupboard - airing cupboard.
metalhammer.
edit,if you go to issue 51,you'll find description of my set-up used in my hotwater tank cupboard - airing cupboard.
metalhammer.
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walberg
Re: King Protea cultivation
What is EPS?metalhammer wrote:If you join the EPS forum & click on downloadable Chamerops,if you download issue 53,you'll find my new propagator on there.
edit,if you go to issue 51,you'll find description of my set-up used in my hotwater tank cupboard - airing cupboard.
metalhammer.
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walberg
Re: King Protea cultivation
What is EPS?metalhammer wrote:If you join the EPS forum & click on downloadable Chamerops,if you download issue 53,you'll find my new propagator on there.
edit,if you go to issue 51,you'll find description of my set-up used in my hotwater tank cupboard - airing cupboard.
metalhammer.
Re: King Protea cultivation
Just come across this threas whilst googling something else. Since I'm named on it I thought I'd better log in and reply 
The trouble with the really pretty, showy proteas is although they can be grown outside (on the south coast at least) during a normal or mild winter, you only have to have a bad one and you're back to square one. That said, there are species that are actually very hardy. I've had Protea subvesita and Protea venustra outside for several years now, including the last few harsh winters. They've both been buried under a foot of snow for a week and come through just fine. Seed for both can be obtained from finebushpeople. I've been buying a lot of seed from there to experiment with some of the species from the mountains which should be equally hardy. The trick to germinating them is just to wet the seed and leave them in a pot with a smoking piece of wood. They can be difficult as seedlings to get through their first winter but I'm gradually getting the hang of that. I have great hopes for protea punctata and protea roupelleae. Yes I've heard of cryophilla too but have never seen any seed for sale.
The other thing you can do is to try related plants. Telopaeas are just as spectactular and a lot hardier than proteas. I have a could a few years ago which came through winters very well but unfortunately I had to move them which killed them. Took me a few years to source replacements which arrived today. Some of the grevilleas are even more robust. My grevillea juniperina grew so big it collapses under its own weight and I had to chop it right back to get it to grow again from its base. I was finding the plants really hard to find as places like Trevenna cross seems to have stopped stocking them but have just recieved an order from a nursery in italy. The plants are really nice and a good price too.
I hope this helps
The trouble with the really pretty, showy proteas is although they can be grown outside (on the south coast at least) during a normal or mild winter, you only have to have a bad one and you're back to square one. That said, there are species that are actually very hardy. I've had Protea subvesita and Protea venustra outside for several years now, including the last few harsh winters. They've both been buried under a foot of snow for a week and come through just fine. Seed for both can be obtained from finebushpeople. I've been buying a lot of seed from there to experiment with some of the species from the mountains which should be equally hardy. The trick to germinating them is just to wet the seed and leave them in a pot with a smoking piece of wood. They can be difficult as seedlings to get through their first winter but I'm gradually getting the hang of that. I have great hopes for protea punctata and protea roupelleae. Yes I've heard of cryophilla too but have never seen any seed for sale. The other thing you can do is to try related plants. Telopaeas are just as spectactular and a lot hardier than proteas. I have a could a few years ago which came through winters very well but unfortunately I had to move them which killed them. Took me a few years to source replacements which arrived today. Some of the grevilleas are even more robust. My grevillea juniperina grew so big it collapses under its own weight and I had to chop it right back to get it to grow again from its base. I was finding the plants really hard to find as places like Trevenna cross seems to have stopped stocking them but have just recieved an order from a nursery in italy. The plants are really nice and a good price too.
I hope this helps