On Sat, 3 Jun 2006 22:49:45 +0100, Janet Baraclough wrote
(in article ):

The message
from Chris Hogg contains these words:

On 2 Jun 2006 14:40:54 -0700, "La Puce" wrote:

I managed to successfully grow proteas from seeds last
year, given to me by a friend who kept them in her shorts pocket for 3
weeks whilst visiting south africa )

You may remember a while ago I mentioned that I planted about a dozen
proteas last year in the garden, many grown from seed, hoping for a
mild winter. I've got three left, despite my best efforts to protect
them, and we only had -2C at the lowest. :-(

But if you don't try these things......

I'm trying grevilleas now!

I don't think protea would survive outdoors here, but grevillea
rosmarinifolia is pretty tough; shrugs off -5 without a shiver. Mine had
raspberry coloured flowers open on Christmas day and is just coming
into full bloom now.


We have it in the garden here and I agree it's a good plant. We reckon ours
flowers 8 or 9 months in the year. But you have to be careful where you
plant it because it bites! Ours is in the wrong place, right on the corner
of a path, so it has to have a severe cutback every so often. Proteas grow
in Tresco but they wouldn't survive with us.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
email address on web site