Protea

[iwan]

Watching a garden show this morning and one of the features was Protea. I have had an interest in Protea for several years. Some are reasonably cold hardy, but it is too hot/dry here for most. Are there any Protea that will thrive with 5 months of 90-110F temps?

[plamfrong]

Watching a garden show this morning and one of the features was Protea. I have had an interest in Protea for several years. Some are reasonably cold hardy, but it is too hot/dry here for most. Are there any Protea that will thrive with 5 months of 90-110F temps?

You might look at P. sulphurea and P. witzenburgiana, and supply partial shade and occasional summer water.

[bahia]

I'd suggest trying the cultivar Protea 'Pink Ice' as a likely hardy to both cold and heat protea. I suspect that it will do best if it is lightly shaded from the worst of the mid day sun, and that you mulch heavily with a thick inorganic mulch to keep the surface soil temperature from getting to hot. They are very similar to a lot of California natives in that they don't tolerate hot soils and moisture, but need some irrigation in summer to get them established. Probably watering with drip only at night when the soil is cooler, and giving them mid day protection from full hot sun or a northeast or northwest exposure will be better. In my experience, some of the Leucadendron salignum and cultivars are also a lot more heat and cold tolerant, if you like the looks of them, but I would treat them the same way in your hot summer climate.

[Justin]

I would think numerous of them would do well, so long as your humidity stays low. What I would suggest is to look for the Proteas that come from less coastal areas. The range around Cape Town is quite variable, with some very coastal areas but also some very hot (and cold) valleys. Plants that grow in those valleys will probably not care about your temperatures.

More problematic would be your soil. If you have clay, you're going to have a heck of a time keeping Proteas alive, no matter what your temperatures are.