I like the very first 'Mini King' Protea flower (above) more than the very first 'Pink Ice' (below). Personal taste, I guess. The 'Pink Ice' bracts didn't open outwards, though I like the smear of purple-black in the center:
I'm still leaning towards Leucospermums as favorite Proteaceae.
Lecadendrons are also fabulous...
I'm really fortunate to be able to grow them. So far, anyway.
Meanwhile, Agave stricta's flower progresses. The plant has grace--too bad A. augustifolia crowded it out for so long.
An Agave is not a Protea, but I liked the way this photo turned out.
In the meantime, 'Mini King' slowly opens wider.
I'm still leaning towards Leucospermums as favorite Proteaceae.
Meanwhile, Agave stricta's flower progresses. The plant has grace--too bad A. augustifolia crowded it out for so long.
An Agave is not a Protea, but I liked the way this photo turned out.
In the meantime, 'Mini King' slowly opens wider.
must be nice to be able to do an at-home comparative analysis of protea blooms!
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty amazing, yes it is.
DeleteI liked the shape of the 'Pink Ice' buds but I agree that 'Mini-King' is more impressive in bloom. I'd like to find a spot for one even though killing my third Leucospermum has me questioning my ability to keep it alive. At least I haven't killed any Leucadendron this year (yet). Is that Leucadendron 'Blush'?
ReplyDeleteI think it is 'Blush'. The blend of colors is exquisite, no?
DeleteThe Leucospermum on the south slope here has its own mini-sprinkler right at the roots, and continues to grow like a weed. A goodly amount of irrigation implied--will it up and drop dead of root rot? I'm watching, watching, baffled. There's a magnificent one down on the flats nearby growing and thriving in the midst of a Bermuda grass lawn. I don't know what they want.
Some great photos there! The stricta bloom is very good. Reminds me of the time I planted seeds from the flower pods on a geminiflora in bloom. So many of them took and germinated. Now I'm just playing Darwin, seeing which are the strongest.
ReplyDeleteCongrats the bloom is here you've been waiting for. They are beautiful!
Thank you. I think stricta produces seeds not bulbils, so I will try planting a few to see what I get. Geminiflora is a nice one--does it do well in your desert heat?
DeleteLeucadendrons are indeed fabulous. In the late 1980s I used to go to Strybing Arboretum's Cape garden and just gaze and gaze at their other-worldly silvery-ness. [L. argenteum, obv. It's only this last year, reading west coast plant blogs, that I've realized how many other species there are.]
ReplyDeleteThey must be fabulous there, in that magical SF cool weather. The L. argenteums I see here are pretty sad. 'Pisa' has some of that silvery quality, but seems much more viable as a plant, so far.
DeleteAny protea is a pretty protea to me, love them both.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm lucky they've actually grown here! It's a thrill, really. They are so utterly exotic and ancient, at least 10s of millions of years older than our own strange species.
DeleteAll the 'Pink Ice' I've ever seen had that closed shape. Maybe it never opens wider? I still like it as I do all other proteas.
ReplyDeleteApparently that is what it does. The silvery-pink bracts are the best bit.
DeleteYour "Mini King" protea flower is spectacular, I love the warm colours. I also love Leucadendrons and the bright yellow Leucospermum. Sadly my Leucospermum died earlier this year, it had been growing beautifully for years, then looked as if it had been sprayed with poison and died..
ReplyDeletexoxoxo ♡
Yes the warm sunset colors. I love those too. The Leucospermum, they are short-lived anyway? Root rot?
DeleteA few dropped dead at the local garden center display garden, but they were not irrigated and recently planted--I thought that is what did them in. Here the standard advice is regular irrigation for the first two years.