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Protea (sugarbush)
Have you had enough of the cold, wet dreariness of late autumn? With a little trick, you can bring South African flair into your living room. Ask your Fleurop partner florist for fresh proteas. Expertly tied into a beautiful bouquet, South Africa's national flowers will bring colourful exoticism into the grey November.
Flowering
When autumn arrives in Central Europe, spring begins in South Africa - the flowering season of the Protea. It belongs to the silver tree family (Proteaceae) and can be seen in the wild in South Africa in the form of sprawling bushes. Wherever you look in the African spring, the sugar bushes bloom everywhere - whether on Table Mountain or at the Cape of Good Hope. They are even sold in large pots ready for planting in garden centres. In the wild, proteas form many leafy branches and flowers. Strictly speaking, however, the artichoke-like shapes are not actually single flowers: each inflorescence is made up of many individual small, tightly packed flowers that are very fluffy and look more like hairs. The inflorescences are framed by spectacular, mostly colourful bracts. Around 115 different Protea species are known, around four-fifths of which are found in southern Africa and around one-fifth in tropical Africa. It is therefore not surprising that one particularly beautiful species, the king protea (Protea cynaroides), is even stylised on South Africa's coat of arms. Its flowers can reach a diameter of up to 30 centimetres!
Survivalists with heat resistance
In the wild, the various Protea species grow as evergreen, creeping to upright shrubs and small trees, which usually reach heights of up to three metres, in rare cases even up to ten metres. The Protea is characterised by leathery, green leaves. Its characteristic conical inflorescences usually reach diameters of three to 15 centimetres. The hard bracts can be leathery and smooth or velvety and woolly. Sometimes they are strikingly brightly coloured. When it comes to heat, proteas are true survivors: when it gets 40 or even 45 degrees in the South African summer, the plants are not damaged.
They even survive bush fires - not uncommon in South Africa. Although the old bushes burn down, the new greenery appears within a few months and covers the mountains again. The trick is that many species form a thickening at the base of the trunk just below or above the ground, from which the plants sprout again after a bush fire. Even the hard-encapsulated seeds can cope with the heat. At the same time, the ash after the fires forms new nutrients for the otherwise very mineral-poor soils of the region.
Stylish winter wedding
Depending on the species and region in South Africa, the natural Protea flowering period can be almost all year round. However, these exotic plants are mainly imported to Germany as cut flowers during the peak season, which in this country falls in the autumn and winter months. Over 50,000 of them are then flown in fresh from production farms in the Cape Town region and Zimbabwe. Now that the variety of cut flowers in our country is dwindling, these exotic beauties are just what we need - especially for wedding decorations. The magnificent royal protea is particularly popular as the centrepiece of an opulent bridal bouquet. On the one hand, it looks very majestic and noble, but on the other hand, its velvety pale pink and white colour makes it appear fairytale-like and romantic. Eucalyptus, white winter grasses and feathers, for example, can be used as accessories to break up the bouquet and give it a light and airy feel despite its size. Proteas in cream and pastel shades with fluffy flower centres can also be used to great effect as table decorations for winter weddings - ask your Fleurop partner florist about this!
Exoticism in a bouquet
But you don't really need a special occasion for the Protea. Why not surprise a loved one with an exotic bouquet of flowers and show them that November doesn't just bring grey rainy weather, but also such timelessly elegant beauties. You'll definitely impress the recipient with a more unusual look! You only need one or two of the Protea and you have a feast for the eyes. In a vase, the Protea looks like a work of art in its own four walls. At home, cut the thick woody stems at an angle with a clean, sharp knife and place them in warm water so that the inflorescence can develop optimally. With regular watering - proteas are very thirsty flowers - and a new cut every few days, they will keep for three weeks in the vase. A bright and cool location without direct sunlight is advantageous. And you can place a few decorative stones in the vase as a "support" for the Protea with its heavy inflorescence. That way it won't tip over. If you want to preserve this exotic beauty as a dried flower, you should hang it upside down in a dark, well-ventilated room before it withers. With a bit of luck, it will then lose neither its colour nor its shape and can still be used in flower arrangements and decorations.