About Protea

Protea can be considered a lovely flower, known for its exoticism. We can consider protea a sort of prototype of exoticism. Its startlingly beautiful appearance truly captivates our eyes and charms our souls. Proteas are simply lovely and a bunch of them always convey a message of love, joy. Giving a bunch of proteas for your dear one in Romania, represents making a statement. These lovely flowers can be regarded the tokens of tender and true feelings. Moreover in Romania persons often surprise each other with lovely protea flowers.
Just as proteas are unique flowers in the natural world, the person receiving them can be considered unique in the human one.
According to the legend protea was named after Proteus, the Greek God, known for his ability to change his shape. Thus the very name protea clearly alludes to diversity and implicitly a variety of shapes, sizes and hues. To exemplify this variety and diversity I included a list consisting of protea species:
 Protea caffra (Common Protea)
 Protea dracomontana
 Protea glabra
 Protea inopina
 Protea nitida
 Protea comptonii
 Protea curvata
 Protea laetans
 Protea cryophila (Snow Protea)
 Protea pruinosa
 Protea scabriuscula
 Protea scolopendriifolia
 Protea section Ligulatae
 Protea burchellii
 Protea compacta
 Protea eximia
 Protea longifolia
 Protea obtusifolia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protea)
Naturally, the list could go on, I simply wished to present some of them. Moreover it is important to mention that proteas are native to Australia, South America, South Africa, Asia and Madagascar. But starting from these very exotic places, proteas have now conquered the whole world. They can be found practically in every corner of the planet, starting from Europe all over America.
Therefore if you wish to add a little speck of exoticism to your garden, you should start planting proteas. The starting point for planting proteas is water and location. You should pick up a location with full sun and adequate air movement for them, and good water drainage is essential. Therefore if you decide to plant proteas on sloped, mounds or something of the kind, it can be very beneficial for the plants. When planting proteas, make sure that you dig a hole somewhat wider and deeper than the root ball of the plant. Moreover it is a good idea to build a circular basin of soil around the plant and fill it with water. This enables the first irrigation in the new environment. Once the first irrigation is done, the basin can be removed. Also adding an organic substance to the soil is a very good idea. Proteas can be staked but prefer to spread naturally. They will perform well in either way. Pruning is also essential, can be best done during and after flowering. The old flower heads should be always removed; cuts must be made above four or five leaves.