Looks like Leucospermum 'Scarlet Ribbons'. Same parentage; maybe synonymous.

It's a fairly easy hybrid, tolerating most well-drained soils (prefers gravelly-sandy) as long as it's in full sun.

It does show chlorosis in some of our soils. I usually toss on a little citrus food every 3-4 months.

It's not as drought-tolerant as some proteas, it needs regular watering -- not too much in summer, though.

This one is hardy down to maybe 25F.

Joe

Mark,
I also happened to see a batch of these available at Home Depot here in the SF Bay Area, and bought a few more again. The ones I bought last year quickly died on me, and I generally have no problems keeping Leucospermums alive. I am already having better luck with this current batch, alive now for three weeks and counting, and showing no signs of distress. I think these may have been hardened off from greenhouse conditions before going to the stores, as they seem to be healthier. I'd avoid placing them in full sun, and would suggest potting them up into larger sized containers after they finish blooming. Don't let them dry out, nor keep the soil too wet, or they will likely die. Plants grown outdoors are going to be much hardier under home conditions, as these have been pumped up and pampered under greenhouse conditions to get the large size and multiple flower buds, (my plants have almost 9 to 12 buds each, on small 6 inch size potted plants).

I don't use regular fertilizer on any of my proteas, only bloodmeal or alfalfa, to ensure that no phosphorus poisoning occurs. I haven't quite figured out the fertilizer regimen used by the growers to get such pumped up plants, and my plants in the garden typically only set light amounts of flower buds the following year, but then settle in to give better quantity of flowers the following years, when I seldom fertilize at all unless they are looking a bit chlorotic.

Yo my friends Mark and Bahia: we talked before on the South African plant forum about proteas. We are all in the Bay Area. Which Trader Joe's and which Home Depots have these? I am in! I got 15 bucks!
Thanks guys.

Joe and Bahia,

Thanks for the information and great advice--that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

Bahia--great that you believe these are more robust than last year. One thing I remember about the plant last year (and I believe the couple others that were being sold), is that they had more flowers open than the one I bought this year. Many of the others at TJ's had no flowers open yet. Perhaps this is a sign the plants are fresher and haven't been neglected as much by the time I purchased it?

I'm curious bahia--how does one count buds? If I look at the plant I see a continuous distribution of "buds" at various stages of development. I assume that many/most of these would never fully develop, even under perfect conditions. Is there a way to make a cutoff, or is this unpredictable at this point? It looks like a question of incomplete development and not necessarily aborting the "buds". I'm assuming that anything at all small will not make it and I will end up with 8 or 9.

Deep_roots--I got mine at the Trader Joe's in Los Altos (On Homestead near Foothill--must be the edge of Cupertino). There weren't a huge number and right when I got there a woman next to me grabbed a nice one. She said that she normally buys things wholesale (I assume bahia does as well?), but that these were great prices. I asked her whether these were from the place in Half Moon Bay and she finished my sentence. It seems that some people even buy multiple plants...(I suppose I should draw a smiley face here, but that's something I avoid).

If they are out or only a couple remain, you might ask inside. If you find a helpful and knowledgeable person they might be able to tell you when/if a new shipment is expected. Or simply show up next Sunday (I got mine at 4 or 5 P.M.). By the way, check out the produce market next door while you are there--fantastic (and amazingly cheap) for our area--I understand it has improved dramatically recently under new ownership.

Bahia, if you are still reading this thread, I recently posted a question on the South African forum regarding Athanasia pinnata. I'm guessing you are a good person to ask about this one--it's available from Annie's and just about nobody else (seeds from Silverhill). Anyway, I'm trying to persuade my mom to let me tear out one or two of her Oleanders and replace it/them with something interesting--might this be appropriate? The Oleanders are kept small and are in the background of a medium small, somewhat sloped, lawn-free front yard. I'm curious about growth rate (fast would be nice), general growth habit, diseases, everything. There's essentialy no info out there and pretty much one picture online. Is it a nice plant and worth it? In my opinion just about anything is better than an old Oleander.

I guess I am one of those people who buy multiples of things when I see a good thing, I bought 5 of them. I have seen them at several Home Depots here in the East Bay in the past; last year at Emeryville, this year at El Cerrito. Flower buds versus foliage buds are distinctly different, and the side buds can continue to develop and bloom if you give the plant the right conditions.

Athanasia pinnata needs perfect drainage, good open sun and air circulation and little to no summer water to do well, you might easily rot this out if it gets too much summer water in poorly drained clay. Not particularly fast growing. Not sure whether Annie's has this at the moment, I don't remember seeing it on the current list, even though I work there on weekends! Myself, I am more attracted to silvery foliaged plants such as Astelia nervosa 'Red Gem' or Astelia chathamica. I also really like silvery foliaged shrubs such as Adenanthos, although some species can get quite big.

outstanding on the quick replies fellers.
Gee, the TJ in Los Altos? Oh no, that is 3 miles from my house!
Anyways, I will check out the TJ's in Menlo Park right now since I work nearby.
I'll keep my eyes peeled at HD. I was at the one in East Palo Alto last Friday, but all I saw that was good were 4 inch pot annuals for 33 cents each.

deep_roots,

You might also try the OSH on Sunnyvale Saratoga and El Camino. That's where I found one last year.

bahia,

I was joking about buying more than one of course--particularly when they sell them at Home Depot, OSH, Trader Joe's...

I find the leaf and flower buds easy to distinguish once they reach a certain size. See for example the far left branch of the plant. Perhaps none of the smaller ones Im looking at are in fact flower buds and I could easily tell if both types were there--I don't know and I dont have experience with these. It makes me wonder, though, whether very small ones are not differentiated so the application of the right hormone (or possibly environmental cue) at the right time could switch the identity of those at a certain stage to all flower buds. That could hypothetically be how the nurseries get them full of flowers. So no new buds are produced, just undifferentiated buds that would become leaf buds are switched to flower buds. Just a guess.

Thanks for the info on Athanasia. Actually the area I was thinking of is clay soil and it tends to get a bit flooded in the winter. Probably not good. It's dry in the summer, though.

They are on Annie's online "this weeks availability list". It's always nice to have another excuse to go up there. I understand I can always special order from Yamagami's, although I've never tried that. I was curious whether it's planted in the demonstration garden at Annie's so I sent off an email. Claire tells me that unfortunately it's been cut back recently. She did suggest several other plants--I'll have to look into those that the two of you mention.

If you work at Annie's on the weekends, we've met. I've asked you a ton of questions and you've always been very helpful. I'm trying to sort out which conversations I've had with whom--I think I had these with you a couple weeks ago. I'm the one with the Echium 'Mr. Happy' that I don't think will branch (still no sign--it's 3 ft. now, headed to 8-10 ft.?). I'm also the one with an Aristolochia gigantea in the South Bay that blooms heavily (this is the one with flowers of ~10 inches if you're lucky, not the even larger brasiliensis one). It's in pretty much full sun and I bring it into the garage if it looks like it will get below 30 F. In a 2 or 3 gallon pot, I think.

To go off the thread quite a bit, here's a picture of part of that plant, with two 8 or 9 inches flowers and two large buds. See also a friend's blog entry:

http://www.alsgh.com/blog/2008_08_01_archive.html

{{gwi:50983}}

I do frequently root cuttings and give them away--I find them reasonably easy and it's one of those plants that I encourage others to grow. It puts on quite a show.

Well, it appears that I have 30 dollars to spend on these 'cause I got 2 at the Los Altos/Cupertino TJ yesterday at about 5:30. They had at least 12 available. There were 2 different kinds to my untrained eye (one like in your photo with the notched leaf ends and the other had more tapered leaf ends). And the bonus of the fancy wrapping paper around the pots! The clerk at the check-out liked them and asked what they were. Man oh man and that is one interesting parking lot to navigate when the place is packed.
Anyways thanks for the heads-up on these babies.

deep_roots,

(Bringing myself back on topic...)

Great to hear of your success. I wonder how many plants total they had/have--surely those must go pretty fast.

I'm stopping by that shopping center this evening (the produce market and perhaps Peet's) and I'll see what's there tonight and report back. I probably won't be buying anything (there are lots of plant sales April 4th). I'll probably look back and regret this though--I don't think you could even get those same flowers as cut flowers for anywhere close to that price. I will certainly be tempted.

Interesting you bring up the parking situation. I'm there frequently (at least once a week) between 4 and 6. I have never had the slightest problem parking--I literally just pull right in. However everyone I know agrees with you, and many people do not like to go there because of it. I guess I have good parking karma--too bad it seems restricted to that one lot. I always park in the row of spots in the big lot, some of which face the Starbucks outside seating area. My vehicle is short (a jeep), so I can pull into the spots where people have left shopping carts. This accounts for part of the difference, I think.

I was over by the Orchard Supply Hardware in Sunnyvale (El Camino and Sunnyvale-Saratoga) where I bought the plant last year--nothing. Also nothing at the Trader Joe's next door (very few plants overall).

Do you know which hybrid the plant is? I gave a link above to the Australian company that supplies Nurserymen's exchange. I think it should be one of the ones they picture. They also have other info on each individual hybrid--size, soil type, if it's an appropriate container plant, etc.

In case you don't want to search above:

That's a gorgeous Protea ! I've had the cut bloom in a vase of water since Thanksgiving and it looks great. It didn't do well for me as a plant. At the Zoo they grow into huge trees in the ground without much help. I think I watered mine to death. So let it be happy in a sunny location without too much fuss. I was given a Cornicopia basket with six Protea maybe five years ago and it's all dry but still looks really great. Beautiful plants but yours is exceptional so enjoy.

I ended up getting another one at the Los Altos Trader Joe's. No picture yet--none of the buds are fully open. It is a different variety, though--the greyish leaves are only serrated at the tip, and the flowers are furrier. Standing beside me in line was a South African woman--I wish I had more than 30 seconds to talk about these plants. She had bought one a week ago, it's still holding up well.

It's actually going to a friend of mine--in pieces. She lives in a part of the country where Proteas of any sort are not available as cut flowers. We'll see whether we can ship the rest of it. Regardless, she'd like to find a way to propagate them. At first I had decided to avoid getting her a plant, since I wanted to make sure it would still be in good shape a few days. Bahia's story about the plants surviving several weeks convinced me it was worth the risk.

By the way I ran across a useful reference about Proteas. I guess it's a book: 170 pages and you can get it free as a pdf file.

www.actahort.org/chronica/pdf/sh_5.pdf

debbysunshine,

My mom kept the dead plant long after it died last year--they stll do look good. Hopefully this year they will stay alive.

Ha. You bought another one?
Anyways, I'm pretty sure the plant tag says "Do not propagate." Watch out for the Protea Police!
Thanks again for sharing all the info.

deep_roots,

The tag does indeed say that. Whether it's actually true may depend on the particular hybrid or species.

Check out Proteaflora's list of Leucospermums that I mentioned before:

http://www.proteaflora.com.au/plant-search/leucospermum

The following varieties they sell are patented (PBR--Plant Breeder's Rights):

Carnival Copper, Carnival Red and Rigoletto.

These are trademarked:

Calypso Red, Carnival Coast, Carnival Orange, Carnival Yellow, Mardis Gras Petit and Mardis Gras Ribbons

These are not trademarked:

Tango, Cordifolium and Red Rocket

The last two categories can be propagated asexually from what I understand, the three patented varieties cannot. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I suppose it's possible some varieties have some sort of additional U.S. patent protection, I suppose one could look this up.

The first plant I bought seems to be Carnival Red which is definitely illegal. I don't know what the second plant is. I saw at least 3 different varieties for sale--were they only the three patented ones? I guess I would be surprised, but you never know.

Bahia, if you are reading--this is marginally on topic. A friend is putting in a Silverhill seeds order. They have Mimetes cucullatus (Protea family). I understand germination is poor to put it mildly (Plantzafrica says 4-5%), but the package is only $3. Worth it? Do you know if there are any tricks? For those who are curious what I'm talking about--Mimetes is thought by some to be the most beautiful genus in Proteaceae and cucullatus is one of the best ones. It's tough to propagate but they say easy to grow. Annie's sells it and I think it's their most expensive plant.

It probably is their most expensive plant, but well worth the effort. I wish some of the other Mimetes from the Cape were also available from Silverhill, as all of the various species I saw over there in habitat were gorgeous. I don't know about seed propagation, but I would guess that the germination rate is much better than 4-5% on average, or else it would not have been available through Annies. It also ought to be more easily propagated from cuttings, with an automated mist system. I generally just stick to things that can be divided or easily started from cuttings, as I don't have the time or set up to baby seedlings nor mist demanding cuttings. So I can't say that I have any hints, although I would imagine that smoke treatment would be helpful. I would say go for it with the seeds...

By the way, thanks for posting the photos of the vine, it does look well worth growing

(Apologies for the length of this and the fact it's off-topic)

Bahia,

Here's what the Annie's sign says:

"Well, weve figured out how to propagate it, but its REALLY IFFY, takes a REALLY LONG TIME, & we only get a few!"

For some reason I had assumed they meant propagation by cuttings--maybe not? But if seed packets are $3 with 10-20 seeds per packet (I don't know if that's the case) then than roughly 5% germination brings the seed price per seedling to closer to $5 maybe (neglecting those insignificant things such as labor...). Annie's says the plants were $50 last time they were offered, so perhaps 5% germination could make sense?

The whole story behind germination actually sounds quite fascinating and has to do with ants. Here's a long description:

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Seed

"Myrmecochory is the dispersal of seeds by ants. Foraging ants disperse seeds which have appendages called elaiosomes (e.g. bloodroot, trilliums, Acacias, and many species of Proteaceae). Elaiosomes are soft, fleshy structures that contain nutrients for animals that eat them. The ants carry such seeds back to their nest, where the elaiosomes are eaten. The remainder of the seed, which is hard and inedible to the ants, then germinates either within the nest or at a removal site where the seed has been discarded by the ants. This dispersal relationship is an example of mutualism, since the plants depend upon the ants to disperse seeds, while the ants depend upon the plants seeds for food. As a result, a drop in numbers of one partner can reduce success of the other. In South Africa, the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) has invaded and displaced native species of ants. Unlike the native ant species, Argentine ants do not collect the seeds of Mimetes cucullatus or eat the elaiosomes. In areas where these ants have invaded, the numbers of Mimetes seedlings have dropped."

From what I understand the removal of the elaiosome increases the germination rate, and it's not clear to me whether there's a way to mimic it. Plantzafrica mentions that suprisingly smoke treatment does nothing.

Actually Silverhill did have a different Mimetes species, M. hirtus, a couple months ago. Unfortunately I saw it described by Plantzafrica as a marsh plant which didn't seem too practical. However they did seem to like it:

http://www.plantzafrica.com/frames/plantsfram.htm

"Sima Eliovson, author of Proteas for pleasure, referred to Mimetes hirtus as 'the most magnificent species of Mimetes, the most spectacular genus of the protea family'. Nevertheless, the future of the species is uncertain as it is also one of the most geographically restricted mimetes, growing only in boggy areas mainly at low altitudes. As a consequence of the latter, it is often out-competed for its preferred habitat by housing developments. Fortunately it is one of the less troublesome to grow in cultivation-an aspect that may aid its chance of survival as a species."

They also add:

"M. hirtus is a relatively short-lived member of the protea family. It grows rapidly as a result, and may start flowering after only two years of growth. Plants reach their peak by ten years of age and die shortly thereafter, at a maximum age of about fifteen years."

Two years is pretty fast for a protea.

Again, sorry for the length and for going off topic.

It's been 4 1/2 months and the Leucospermum is doing well. Not all the flower buds opened/developed fully, and there are some brown tips on the leaves of the older growth (I was worried for a little while it wouldn't make it). However the new growth looks great and I'm hoping for lots of blooms next year. It's putting out considerable new growth farther down the stems, in addition to that which was in the vicinity of the flowerheads at the tips of the stems. You can see this easily on the rightmost branch.

I repotted it into a 12 inch clay pot and it gets morning sun, afternoon shade. I don't remember the exact soil mix, but it appears to have perlite, fine bark, I assume peat and possibly potting soil.

I'll repost the original as well, so you don't have to go all the way to the top. Without planning it, I managed to get the plant in almost exactly the same orientation for the two shots.

Now

{{gwi:523391}}

March:

{{gwi:523387}}

It's half a year since the previous posting, but I just discovered this site. I also found a leucospermum at Home Depot in Cupertino last year, and planted it in my yard. A few days later, the Trader Joe's in Los Altos (walking distance from my house!) had them, too. Bought one for my mom - she put it in a pot. A year later, both look healthy, but no flowers. Lo and behold, a couple days ago, TJ's had more leucospermums! (Bought another...)
To anyone who hasn't gone yet, check out the Arboretum at UC Santa Cruz. The South African plant display is vast and jaw-dropping right now, in addition to their amazing Australian, New Zealand, California and succulent gardens.
Finally, a quick google of "protea seeds" yields seed sources in South Africa that ship internionally, like the Fine Bush People, Silverhill and the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. I am drooling over their proteas and lachenalias...

Thanks for the update Natascha. Of the 2 I bought last March, one still lives and is planted in my garden. I thought the cold would do it in, but it seems to be doing fine. I may go to TJ for another now that I know they have them again.
Yes, I liked the UC Santa Cruz Botanical too. I was there in August. I asked a guy who worked there where I could get some of those plants! They have some hummingbird magnets there, can't remember the name of the plant, the guy said sometimes they have them for sale. At the garden you can see protea types that are full size. Some are quite large. While there I did buy a banksia of some type and it has sailed through the Winter in good shape. I have a leucadendron in my yard that I bought as a twig maybe 10 years ago at a local nursey and it has started to really get some size now. I love it.

I just wanted to add that I was very impressed with the Proteaceae (and the plants in general) at UC Santa Cruz Arboretum gift shop last time I was there. This was in early January. I picked up a Grevellia (a fairly common hybrid, I don't remember the name) and an Isopogon. Both are about to bloom.

As I mentioned in a different post I was amazed with the Proteaceae at Flora Grubb in San Francisco. For those worried about having to deal with the city--don't. You want have to. Just make the trip.

Since there seems to be a few people in the Cupertino area following this thread I would also mention that Yamagami's seems to have expanded their offerings of Proteaceae as well.

This needs to be said--I've been meaning to write a post on the plants and flowers available at the Sunnyvale Farmer's Market, but haven't found time lately.

One of the sellers, Serendipity Farms, has been selling Proteaceae. I don't know her future plans for selling or what other markets she sells at, but the flowers she has been selling at the Sunnyvale market have been phenomenal.

Here's an example of what came in one of her bouquets. I'm not sure if this was a $9 or $15 bouquet, as it was a gift:

{{gwi:523395}}

Obviously besides just the flowers, if one were so inclined one of these bouquets could serve a source of cuttings for propagating the plants, particularly as the flowers and cuttings are fresh.

I don't know the names of everything in her bouquets, although many do have other genera such as Banksias and Isopogons.