On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 14:24:39 GMT, Ford Prefect
wrote:

I've just got back from a visit to Cornwall and I bought amongst other
things a Protea cynaroides at Hardy Exotics (a great nursery and very
friendly people) Anyone on the list recommend any books on them
including cultivating them in the UK I worry that the books bought on
say Amazon might have been written for the US market so will be of no
use here.
Thanks.
Ford.

There are no books on growing proteas specifically relevant to the UK,
as they're difficult, and not many people grow them. Two books that I
have a

'Grow Proteas'
Brown, Kotze & Botha,
Kirstenbosch Gardening Series

'Growing Proteas'
Rob McLennan
Kangaroo Press

Both are soft-back booklets rather than books. I got mine from Trevena
Cross Nurseries, a few miles from Hardy Exotics. IIRC they do mail
order. http://www.trevenacross.co.uk/ . They do proteas as well.

I also grow several proteas, but only a few are hardy, and then only
in the far SW of Cornwall. P. cynaroides is among the hardiest, but I
wouldn't leave it outside in winter unless where you live is very
mild. Mine, outside all year in the ground, got cut back by a frost of
-2C last February. Grow it in a pot, as they don't like root
disturbance.

As for cultural requirements, they require poor, very free draining
acid soil. I make my own mix of equal parts of the following:

acid soil / peat / gritty sand (or fine grit) / perlite (not
vermiculite) / horticultural charcoal

To this I add both hoof and horn and dried blood fertiliser, a couple
of generous handfuls per barrowload of mix (but you won't need that
much, so scale down accordingly). Avoid bone meal, fish meal or
anything with phosphate in it. Phosphate fertilisers are poison to
proteas, so don't use a 'balanced' commercial fertiliser. When I want
to fertilise my plants, I use a level teaspoonful of each of sulphate
of ammonia, sulphate of potash and sulphate of magnesium in a
watering-can (say 1.5 gallons). Trevena Cross Nursery (see above) do
a granulated slow release fertiliser specifically for proteas.

They don't like being over watered. They also like a buoyant
atmosphere, breezy even, so keep the greenhouse well ventilated at all
times, if that's where you want to grow it.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net