Welcome to 'PEP', our “Protea Education Program”. Our
ultimate goal is to educate and inform about the benefits
of Protea...flowers beyond the ordinary. Your questions,
comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

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Please enjoy and have a great moth of June.

In early May, June and I exhibited at the Los Angeles
Arboretum and Botanical Gardens Summer Show. It was nice
to meet some of our customers in person. The question we
got asked most was: “I had a Protea plant in my yard and it
was doing fine. Then one day, it just died. Why?”

If I had a dime…well, you know the rest. This is a difficult
question to answer, because of all the variables involved;
climates, soil conditions and plant care, just to name a
few. I have taken the liberty to refer to the “Protea Atlas
Project” (http://protea.worldonline.co.za/default.htm)
looking for answers. The Protea Atlas Project aims to
encourage amateur involvement in Botany. The ultimate
objective is to stimulate amateur awareness and enjoyment
of the veldt thus encouraging a conservation ethic.
According to this South African website, they list two main
causes that kill Protea plants:

1. Proteas do not like being waterlogged. If the plants are
watered make sure that the water drains away (down) and
does not stand for more than a few minutes. If water stays,
you have a drainage problem. Be careful of making sandy
pits in clay soil where the water sits and cannot drain
away.
2. Beware of infection by water-borne diseases. The
worst of these is Phytophthora root rot. From infected
material (other plants, soil from nurseries, from mulch)
the fungal spores are dispersed by water and infect the
roots. This results in dieback of the root system. It is
usually not noticed until the plant requires water. So the
plant will appear normal until one hot day. Death will
occur within hours, unless you notice it early and prune
and water. If you have the fungus and notice that your
plants are dying like dominoes during the summer hot
weather you will need to sterilize your soil or plant
Phytophthora-resistant species or use
Phytophthora-resistant root stock and graft your plants
onto them. Be aware that hoeing spreads fungus quite
efficiently, as does flood watering and mulch.

In a nutshell, and we will delve into this topic in more in
future newsletters, good drainage is essential. And,
remember, Proteas typically require very little fertilizing
- this applies particularly when growing species on their
natural soils. At all costs avoid phosphorous (P) and
potassium (K), as the plants soak these up so efficiently
that they die of self-poisoning.

For Protea care, arrangement and gift tips, visit the Web site at
http://www.DiscoverProtea.com. The Web site donates 10% of
bouquet profits to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
International.

Our Protea ‘California Summer Bouquets’ are now available
at http://www.DiscoverProtea.com