Selwyn Times: May 24, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday May 24 2016 21
gardening
Protea is the king of colour
Dylan Norfield looks
at protea and the
importance of pruning
If you ever wanted a flower to stand
out in the crowd then the protea is the
flower for you.
The Latin name is equally grand,
being named after the Greek God
Proteus, who was known to change
his form at will, and chosen for the
genus due to the wide variety of
forms it and its larger family can take.
Protea has also been adopted as
the common name, unless you are
in South Africa, where they are
known as the ‘sugar bushes’ or in
native Afrikaans: suikerbos. It really
is the royalty of the plant kingdom,
with some species surprisingly easy
to grow and a must for the flower
arrangement.
However, protea do require some
specific soil, light and environmental
conditions to thrive. The key to
growing most species is avoiding wet
roots.
This is the principle reason behind
many failures. The fleshy roots are
susceptible to root rot and so plants
will yellow and go downhill rapidly.
With this in mind, add plenty of
drainage – in the form of grit and
sand – to the soil when planting, and,
if necessary, raise the planting area
up above the surrounding level to
increase water runoff.
Another key to survival is to find
the most open and windy spot in
the garden as they love plenty of air
movement around the foliage, making
them ideal for coastal gardens.
Because they are such a prized
plant in the garden and also not fast
growing, when they look healthy it
can feel like a real accomplishment.
After a couple of years getting
them established, proteas will need
regular pruning to keep the plant
dense and garden-worthy. The
alternative is they begin to look too
leggy, and lose all the lower foliage.
The easiest way of combatting this
is to cut flowers for the vase each
year, giving you a wonderful display
inside while also keeping your plant
reduced. Do not just break off the
old flower buds, however, as this will
simply cause new shoots to appear
behind the old flower, eventually
making a straggly plant.
Pruning
1. Cut flower stems back when
ready for the vase, leaving 10cm of
healthy leaves on this year’s stem
underneath your cut.
(Alternatively, cut stems back
immediately after flowers are spent,
again to 10cm of healthy leaves.)
2. Leave any shoots that have not
flowered as these are next year’s
potential buds.
3. Remove any weak stems close
to the ground as these will produce
inferior flowers and use up vital plant
energy.
4. Any longer shoots can be cut to
shape up the plant, but remember the
loss of next year’s flowers.
5. Never remove more than 30 per
cent of all the foliage on a bush as this
will have a very detrimental effect on
the plant’s strength.
This method of pruning is a general
rule for all species of protea, but
some species can be pruned harder.
This will require some research on
the species and a classic example
of this is the king protea, Protea
cynaroides.
As it comes from an area of South
Africa that experiences fires it has
evolved to have what is called a ligno
tuber under the ground. This, in
effect, is a fat root that stores energy
for the plant and has the potential to
shoot away if all the foliage is lost, as
in a fire.
This gives us a great advantage
when pruning as it shoots away
regularly from the base keeping
foliage to the ground throughout its
life.
BOLD: Protea aristata is only found naturally on a 60km
stretch of the Swartberg mountains, in South Africa. Above
left: Protea roupelliae is one of the most adaptable species
for the garden Above right: Protea cynaroides is commonly
known as the king protea, having the largest flowers in the
genus.
gardening without guesswork
Question:
Can you tell me if my Magnolia tree is sick or not? It is in flower
now large deep red flowers but they don’t open right up and fall
off, it’s a lovely tree and has only been in for three years and I
thought perhaps the mild weather we are experiencing may be a
factor? Does it need feeding or anything else? I don’t want to lose it
and will do anything to save it!
Magnolias flower in the spring
Answer: (Magnolia grandiflora) which is
ever green and has large white
flowers. As the plant you have has large deep red flowers it tells
us that it is a spring flowering type also. It may flower during
the summer, but not as many, and they are prone to fall off
if the plant suffers any stress - especially during hot and dry
conditions. With our weather being unusually warm and dry, this
may be the main factor. These plants can
take several years to get well established
and become reliable flowerers. We would
suggest that the plant be given a potash
fertiliser in August and then apply some of
our Organic Compost around the drip line
before next summer. Make sure you water
well after applying the fertiliser. If you don’t
see any improvement in the next year or so,
let us know and we can have another look
at what is wrong.
Thanks to Verlie for her question.
for more information, check out our website:
www.intelligro.co.nz or visit our facebook
page: www.facebook.com/igro.co.nz
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What it potassium sulphate?
Potassium Sulphate is more commonly
known as Pot Ash. It provides essential
potassium to plants that are sensitive
to chloride.
• Provides essential potassium to
plants to encourage growth
• Low salt content for healthy
absorption of water
• Corrects potassium deficiency in
sandy and light soils.