Proteaceae

[raimeiken]

4 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

i have tried protea and leucospermum. Leucs do better for me than protea cynariodes, which tends to suffer in summer. 

Do you give them full sun? And how hot does it get in the summer in your area? And what kind of soil do you have yours growing in?

[Josue Diaz]

On 4/22/2020 at 1:43 PM, raimeiken said:

Do you give them full sun? And how hot does it get in the summer in your area? And what kind of soil do you have yours growing in?

They're both in full sun (well,  WERE since the proteas are now gone). They are in Huge terra cotta pots to keep them from the various fertilizers i use in the yard. It gets to 100 or more starting in May and that lasts through late Oct. We usually get to 110 and hover there for several weeks in July/ Aug/ Sept. The Leucospermum thrive in summer - strong, well branched plants. Protea (and Leucadendrons for that matter) suffer in summer for me. 

[Josue Diaz]

Just now, Josue Diaz said:

They're both in full sun (well,  WERE since the proteas are now gone). They are in Huge terra cotta pots to keep them from the various fertilizers i use in the yard. It gets to 100 or more starting in May and that lasts through late Oct. We usually get to 110 and hover there for several weeks in July/ Aug/ Sept. The Leucospermum thrive in summer - strong, well branched plants. Protea (and Leucadendrons for that matter) suffer in summer for me. 

BUT, maybe inland species would grow better in hot climates? I've considered trying p. nerifolia.

[Silas_Sancona]

The big 3, ( Protea, Leucadendron, Leucospermum ) are likely going to be quite a challenge here in the desert, especially any that originate on the western side of the Cape in S. Africa/ Southern Aus.  Best bet, ( Protea esp. ) would be seeking out sp. that grow say north/ more inland from Durban, on the east side of the Cape. There are apparently some ( Protea ) that originate in West ..and east Africa, just north or south of the Equator, which might be more heat tolerant but might also be pretty cold tender as well.. Less- intensely hot areas north of town, maybe down in Tucson might be slightly less challenging.. maybe..

A better bet, for the low desert ..and similar parts of CA just about as hot in summer, might be Banksia / more obscure Grevillea that are native to hotter areas of western, eastern or the interior regions of Australia. Stuff most nurseries don't carry already..

If i were going to try Protea or Leucospermums here, your idea regarding giving them their own, specially developed planting area is an excellent starting point.. Would also be sure such a spot is shaded most of the day, esp. this time of year. Obviously, be real careful w/ water, and NO Phosphorus, ever.. Don't think i'd fertilize at all..  Might get in touch w/ one of the bigger growers like the Resendiz Brothers ( Rainbow area, San Diego County ) and see what their thoughts might be. They also sell plants, possibly online now,  .. and during the annual Avocado Festival in Fallbrook, which was canceled this year for obvious reasons.. Other, more obscure stuff, you'll likely have to search seed sources out of Australia/ S. Africa. 

[Justin]

First off, I don't live at that house any more, but it had Decomposed Granite for the soil.  Between the soil type, the hillsides (and thus almost never completely still air), and the climate, it was just about perfect for SoCal to grow proteaceae.  I would say Arizona would be very tough - I'd try stuff with smaller leaves (almost like pine needles), like some of the Grevilleas.  Overall, I think you'd have better luck with the Australian proteaceae than the South African, but that's just an educated guess.  Good luck, now matter what you try.

[raimeiken]

4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

The big 3, ( Protea, Leucadendron, Leucospermum ) are likely going to be quite a challenge here in the desert, especially any that originate on the western side of the Cape in S. Africa/ Southern Aus.  Best bet, ( Protea esp. ) would be seeking out sp. that grow say north/ more inland from Durban, on the east side of the Cape. There are apparently some ( Protea ) that originate in West ..and east Africa, just north or south of the Equator, which might be more heat tolerant but might also be pretty cold tender as well.. Less- intensely hot areas north of town, maybe down in Tucson might be slightly less challenging.. maybe..

A better bet, for the low desert ..and similar parts of CA just about as hot in summer, might be Banksia / more obscure Grevillea that are native to hotter areas of western, eastern or the interior regions of Australia. Stuff most nurseries don't carry already..

If i were going to try Protea or Leucospermums here, your idea regarding giving them their own, specially developed planting area is an excellent starting point.. Would also be sure such a spot is shaded most of the day, esp. this time of year. Obviously, be real careful w/ water, and NO Phosphorus, ever.. Don't think i'd fertilize at all..  Might get in touch w/ one of the bigger growers like the Resendiz Brothers ( Rainbow area, San Diego County ) and see what their thoughts might be. They also sell plants, possibly online now,  .. and during the annual Avocado Festival in Fallbrook, which was canceled this year for obvious reasons.. Other, more obscure stuff, you'll likely have to search seed sources out of Australia/ S. Africa. 

yeah I looked into Banksias also but a quick search on topics here for banksias, even Californians here seem to have problems with them, more so than proteas. So they're out the window for me. I might try Leucospermum in the fall, since one of the website I saw they recommend planting them at that time of the year in California. 

 

and yeah the no Phosphorus thing is a tough problem since I grow lots of stuff that I regularly feed. I have a bed on the north side of my house that I can dig up all the native soil out of and dedicate it to just this plant. I might find success there. Only other hurdle is that these plants are quite pricey. Very little sources of them online. Mimosa nursery in Cali and a few etsy sellers. I might try what Josue did and try rooting cuttings I find. There is a flower shop that's based at my work that I regularly see them using these in their arrangements. I never thought of rooting these before. Quite a good idea.

[jimmyt]

Those are some kinda cool flowers for sure.  Thanks for the pics!

[raimeiken]

ok so I got a reply back from an email I had sent to the people at www.Australianplants.com 

I asked them if they can recommend me any species of banksias, protea, and leucospermum that can grow here in Arizona and here is their reply.

 

I do have customers in Arizona and Nevada that grow these plants…Banksia ashby and Banksia prionoptes (OUT OF STOCK) and B. victoriae could handle these temps…in fact we are 102F here today in Ojai after a really cool winter-spring.  Grevillea Moonlight and Grevillea Honey Gem, G. Superb and Grevillea Peaches and cream…many of the grevilleas from Queensland and inland Australia would grow well for you.  Hakeas are great I have Hakea bucculenta – Hakea francisiana and H. petiolaris I will have in a few more weeks.

 

Proteas and Leucosperums and leucaderons from South Africa generally are more costal lovers but you could trial them especially the grey leaved forms.

 

Hope this helps!

[Silas_Sancona]

30 minutes ago, raimeiken said:

ok so I got a reply back from an email I had sent to the people at www.Australianplants.com 

I asked them if they can recommend me any species of banksias, protea, and leucospermum that can grow here in Arizona and here is their reply.

 

 

 

  Interesting....  Big +  they replied so quickly too.. 

[Josue Diaz]

On 4/24/2020 at 1:51 PM, raimeiken said:

yeah I looked into Banksias also but a quick search on topics here for banksias, even Californians here seem to have problems with them, more so than proteas. So they're out the window for me. I might try Leucospermum in the fall, since one of the website I saw they recommend planting them at that time of the year in California. 

 

and yeah the no Phosphorus thing is a tough problem since I grow lots of stuff that I regularly feed. I have a bed on the north side of my house that I can dig up all the native soil out of and dedicate it to just this plant. I might find success there. Only other hurdle is that these plants are quite pricey. Very little sources of them online. Mimosa nursery in Cali and a few etsy sellers. I might try what Josue did and try rooting cuttings I find. There is a flower shop that's based at my work that I regularly see them using these in their arrangements. I never thought of rooting these before. Quite a good idea.

If any nurseries out your way order from Monterrey Bay Nurseries (wholesaler in Northern CA), you could get quite an array of Australian and S. African native proteacea for fairly cheap. Every spring, they hit the Fresno nurseries with all sorts of leucadendron, protea, leucospermum, banksia & grevillea for fairly cheap. 

[raimeiken]

On 4/23/2020 at 11:28 PM, Josue Diaz said:

They're both in full sun (well,  WERE since the proteas are now gone). They are in Huge terra cotta pots to keep them from the various fertilizers i use in the yard. It gets to 100 or more starting in May and that lasts through late Oct. We usually get to 110 and hover there for several weeks in July/ Aug/ Sept. The Leucospermum thrive in summer - strong, well branched plants. Protea (and Leucadendrons for that matter) suffer in summer for me. 

Got a pic of your leucospermum? I read recently that leucospermum patersonii is one of the few that handles alkaline soil conditions, which would be ideal for me. Protea obtusifolia is also another high ph tolerant plant. I got several box planters now in part shade condition that I wanna try one in.

 

What soil mix do you have yours in?

Edited March 12, 2021 by raimeiken