Soil
Growing Proteas is easy as long as you follow a few simple rules. It is important to ensure your Proteas have adequate drainage. Proteas prefer a nice sandy loam or open soil. Some Proteas are less fussy and are quite happy in a heavier soil although they will not survive in heavy clay soils. If you do have heavy soils it will be necessary to first mound the soil to improve it and then dig in compost and gypsum to break up any residual clay.

Most varieties need an acidic soil with a pH below 6, although some tolerate neutral to alkaline soils with a pH above 7. If that's a bit confusing, your local nursery should be able to tell you about your local soil and advise you on testing and treatment, if necessary. Our full variety listing will help you choose the most suitable Proteas for your soil type.

Position Proteas thrive best in full sun with good air movement. The more sun your Proteas get the more flowers they will produce. Some Proteas can be grown in semi-shaded areas, these are listed in our full variety listing. Proteas are fairly frost tolerant once established. In winter they can usually handle frosts around minus 2° and some are more frost hardy, tolerating frosts of minus 6°. These more frost tolerant varieties are listed in our full variety listing. At these extremes, air humidity and the duration of the low temperatures influence the frost tolerance. In the Southern hemisphere, Proteas will not survive on south facing walls.

Mulch
A natural mulch such as bark, straw or leaves protect the plant's surface roots. Avoid mushroom compost as it contains fertilisers high in phosphorus. Do not cultivate around the plant and pull out any weeds by hand.


Watering
Proteaflora plants are pretty tough once they're established. Water at least twice a week in the first summer, preferably daily when it's really hot. You can gradually reduce this as the plant becomes established. Then the watering frequency depends on the prevailing conditions and whether your variety is listed as drought tolerant. After the first year, plants labelled "drought resistant" don't need much attention at all. The rest should be watered weekly during dry periods. In tubs and containers they like a nice drink every day.

Feeding
Garden - Generally it is not necessary to feed Proteaflora plants planted in the garden unless your conditions are extremely severe, like in a sand belt. If so, adding compost and a slow release fertiliser, described as suitable for natives, is a good idea. If you have one of our Proteas that actually does need a feed, it will be listed as such on the back of the Proteaflora label.

Containers - Proteas grown in tubs will need feeding with slow release fertiliser, or any low phosphorus variety. See our tubs section for further information.

Old flower beds
Only plant in old flower beds if no phosphorus fertiliser has been previously used. Proteas are best grown away from plants you need to feed regularly.

Pruning
Proteas can become untidy if let go. Cut the flowers each year and give the plant a good tidy up. It's easy check out how in our step by step guide to pruning.