survivors

I still have the odd plant spring up in the veg patch after I grew it some years ago,

Never had one overwinter outside though Kristen.

 

how big is the king protea pete? have you had it long? unusual to haved only one flower if its a big plant. its a good idea to put the bottom half of a plastic coke bottle over the flower bud to stop it rotting in the rain

 

Hey bodster nice to hear from you.
The protea is a fair size but tends to sprawl, so not that high.

It had three flowers the year after I planted it from a pot, its been in position about 4 yrs now I think.
Since then only one flower per year.

 

Any signs of life on the Caesalpinia Pete or is it a bit early? If you have any seed let me know.
My Aloe Striatula has come through several frosts with some damage although the lower branches are ok, hope to see it flower for the first time.
All nine Callistemons are looking good.
I didn't cover anything this winter and nothing suffered until the frost on Monday which killed off the leaves on the Fig and the new shoots on the Nandina and even Alstroemeria.

 

interesting pete. you've not had any problems with hardiness? when i had a king protea outside it always flower well . the problem was winter wet rotting the flowers. perhaps the soil is too rich causing growth rather than flowers. unfortunately although the big showy proteas tend to be ok outside in a mild winter, if you get a harsh one its a lot of dead plants. the less showy highland species like subvestita and venustra are pretty hardy though

 

was going to post a couple of pics of my proteas flowering outside before the couple of harsh winters we had but cant work out how to upload them unless they already have a url

 

I do protect it, its next to a strelitzia that I grow out side, they have a Bougie running along the back of them.
They get all the winter wet, but mostly frost free.

To post pics you just click on the upload file button at the bottom and take it from there.
Not sure if you need to get a few posts under your belt before you can do it though.

 

It wasn't quite warm enough last summer for seed to mature, so I cant help you mate.
Its not shooting just yet, its a bit early.

 

wow you must be in a mild winter are pete. would love to be able to grow strelitzia outside. heres the protea pics

 

I've not seen Protea's before Bodster, they are amazing! I've just been checking out the cultivation side of things and it seems the island and my sandy soil is a good place to grow them. I feel an investment or two coming on!

 

what are the winters winters like on the isle of man sheal? does it get very cold and frosty? you should also concider telopeas. here is one of mine startung to flower. it will get much bigger and turn a bright crimson colour

 

I'm not usually a lover of plants with large flowers, but they have caught my eye. I'm not so keen on the one above, sorry!

On the whole the winters are usually mild and damp. Last year we had a huge snowfall the week before easter, which was actually a year ago this week. But that was a freak storm that happened overnight. Before that the last snow we had was in 1994.



We also get very few frosts. The temperatures tend to stay fairly even all year round being so closely surrounded by sea. No hot summers, temperature at best is usually around 19 to 21C.

Below is my thread if you'd like to check out the scenery here.

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/out-and-about-today.45782/

 

the telopea flower will become bigger and turn a spectacular bright red in the next few weeks. i'll post a pic when it happens. which proteas are you intending on trying?

 

I like the Telopea bodster.
I bought a plant a long time ago, only lasted a year with me, I'm afraid.
Also tried seed without much luck.