Protea

Protea neriifolia, the bearded protea, is a tall, robust evergreen fynbos shrub from the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, grown for its large goblet-shaped flower heads of soft pink-to-cream bracts — each one rimmed with a distinctive 'beard' of black or white fur at the bract tips. Narrow, oleander-like leaves clothe the stems, and the long-lasting blooms are a staple of the cut-flower trade. It is one of the easiest, longest-flowering, and most widely grown proteas, but it is FROST-TENDER (RHS H3, hardy to only about -4C briefly) and belongs in a warm-temperate or Mediterranean climate, USDA zones 9a-11, or under glass. Like all of its family it is PHOSPHORUS-SENSITIVE: ordinary phosphate fertiliser or bone meal will kill it, and it demands acidic, sharply-drained soil, full sun, and good air circulation. In its homeland the nectar-rich heads are bird-pollinated by sunbirds and sugarbirds.

A sculptural evergreen fynbos shrub bearing the largest flower head of any protea — a great goblet of pointed pink bracts wrapped around a dense central boss — and the national flower of South Africa. Leathery, rounded leaves clothe a woody, fire-adapted rootstock. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa, the Cape Floristic Region / fynbos (POWO, Kew), and is FROST-TENDER: RHS rates it tender (H3), hardy only to about -4C/25F briefly, so outside warm-temperate / Mediterranean climates it is grown under glass or in a sheltered, sharply-drained spot. Like all Proteaceae it is PHOSPHORUS-SENSITIVE — it evolved on nutrient-poor fynbos soils with cluster (proteoid) roots, and ordinary phosphate fertiliser or BONE MEAL will kill it. In the wild the nectar-rich heads are bird-pollinated, worked by sunbirds and sugarbirds. Grown ornamentally and as a premier cut flower; it is not a food plant.