One of the funny challenges about operating a retail garden centre is meeting our customers’ expectations of being able to walk into the nursery any time of the year to select a plant they just saw on their social media feed, a national TV program or while they were away on holidays.
In most cases, we are able to meet their requirements or at least are able to get them in at short notice.
Other times, it is a matter of explaining that the plants are not suitable to grow in this area or may be a problem plant in the area and should not be grown.
The hardest one though, is explaining to customers that the plants are out of season or between batches, and it might be six to 12 months until they are available again.
This is the case with proteas. With only a few quality growers supplying the whole of the eastern states, supply can often become spasmodic and seasonal.
Right now, though, as we approach spring, proteas, along with the closely related leucadendrons, leucospermums, serruria and waratahs are all starting to appear on our benches with quite a variety to choose from.
Proteas are native to South Africa, but are closely related to many of our native plants and require similar conditions.
These plants perform best is sunny positions in the garden and require good drainage. Ideally suited to slightly acid sandy loam soils with a pH of around 5.5.
They can be grown in heavier soils if given good drainage by building up the garden and improving the soil with the addition of gypsum.
Because they naturally grow in fairly depleted sandy soils, they require little to no fertiliser when grown in the ground, but potted plants can be given small amounts of native-friendly slow-release fertiliser if required.
Protea Pink Cream is a popular variety to keep an eye out for.
It produces pink flowers that have a creamy white centre and grows into a medium shrub about 2.5m high.
Flowering in winter and spring, the plants can add interest to the garden when there is not much else about and can make great cut flowers straight from your own garden.
Protea Stately is a slightly more upright small tree that has beautiful large deep pink blooms.
Once established they can flower from autumn to spring, providing a prolonged splash of colour to the garden.
Protea Stanley can be used as a hedging plant or loose screen and is a great source of food for nectar-loving birds and bees.
Protea Little Prince is a short and compact version of the well-known King Protea.
As autumn comes around, Protea Little Prince will set flowers on the apex of its branches.
The large vibrant dark pink almost red blooms feature a silver-white centre and will continue to flower right through to spring.
Growing to only about a metre high, they can be easily worked into a sunny spot in most gardens.
Leucospermum So Exquisite, with its unusual and vibrant, red cone-shaped flowers, always creates interest and a splash of colour in any garden.
Growing to about 2.5m high and wide in a hot sunny spot, they will require only a little water once established.
Flowering from spring to early summer they make a good progression from when most of the proteas are finishing.
Serrurias are a little-known group of plants related to proteas ,with Serruria Pretty N Pink being the main one people might know.
Serruria Pretty N Pink is an evergreen shrub with dark green, fine, needle-like foliage that produces a mass of dainty hot pink flowers from winter through spring.
The flowers form at the end of each stem and are beautiful as both buds and when fully opened.
Growing to only 1m in a full sun to part shade position, they are ideally suited to growing in pots or in the garden.
All these plants require little maintenance apart from an occasional light prune, but there are a few tips to keep in mind when doing this.
When pruning proteas, especially ones that have been neglected, never remove more than 50 per cent of the plant leaf area, and ensure that the remaining cut stems have at least 15cm of healthy foliage remaining.
With protea plants, the non-flowering stems should not be pruned, as they are next year’s flowers.
Serruria, leucadendron and Leucaspermum plants should be pruned by removing all flowers when the colour has faded out of them.
Cut them back, leaving about 15cm of leafy stem, and trim the non-flowering stems to the same height to create a denser shrub with heaps more flowers next year.
Most of these plants are moderately frost hardy, but will benefit from protection when young.
Varieties with fine hairs on their leaf do seem to be more frost-sensitive than others, so keep this in mind when making your selection, or ask the garden centre staff for advice on your choice.
If you are interested in incorporating these interesting plants into your garden, call into the garden centre and have a look through them while they are available in good numbers.
Because once numbers drop off, it may be months until we are able to offer them again.
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