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Setting up a plant conservation research nursery.

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FossilPlants:
Hi Tristan,
I wonder why your proteaceae didn't grow on well? We grow many different members of the family already and have the national collection of South Eastern Australian Banksia sp here in North Wales (all outside). I am afraid Treborth Botanic gardens no longer has any Proteas in the collection.

Tristan_He:
Hi Robbie, really don't know, hence my wondering about mycorhizae. They did seem very fussy about soil. Mine were all S African, of course some of the Australian species seem a lot easier (e.g. Grevillea).

Do you grow your Banksias outside? Whereabouts are you based?

Best, Tristan

Tim Ingram:
Fascinating to hear that you are growing many Banksia species outside in N. Wales Robbie. I remember talking to someone once who grew some on the Lleyn Peninsula which must be very mild - but wet! We grew them for quite a while on the nursery here with winter protection but they are hardly a commercial enterprise. Tim Pyner, leading light in the BPS, (who lives near/in Southend) has grown B. marginata outside for many years and this must be about the hardiest species. I expect Graham Hutchins may have grown some too at County Park Nursery. Now Graham Blunt (Plantbase) is growing a good number well, along with proteas, using 'air-pots'.

They mostly grow in such poor low fertility soils (rather like a lot of Ericaceae) that you would think mycorhizae would be important. We grew them in a mix of ericaceous compost and sand - sometimes builders ballast - quite successfully, though proteas seemed a lot more tricky than banksias. They form those wonderful congested Proteoid roots, which greatly facilitate nutrient uptake from poor soils. I would be particularly interested in growing species such as Bellendena montana (Mountain Rocket) and Telopea truncata from Tasmania but our soil is really too fertile! Maybe along with these gardeners might begin to grow the S. African ericas again in much greater variety?

Darren:
I've grown several Proteas (and other Fynbos plants) from seed:

P.cynaroides - which I still have.
P.laurifolia
Leucadendron argenteum (which grows huge but the seeds were a freebie so I tried it - eventually to dispose of the seedlings when they threatened to get taller than me!

And the lovely Protea nana, which I've grown and flowered twice from seed. This was OK outside in it's pot until the very bad winter of 2009-2010, which killed it. The others above were/are overwintered under glass.


I echo comments about soil. My successes were almost all using a mix of sterile peat and grit. Since trying to use peat-free alternatives I've had terrible problems with damping-off (or other early demise) with both Protea and Erica. The Restios still do OK though. If I can get seed of P. nana again I'd try it in seramis or similar. Problem then is feeding the plants enough to compensate for the sterile medium, without poisoning them with too much nutrient (especially P).

FossilPlants:
Proteaceae don't have a mycorryzal relationship like other plants. They have proteoid roots (cluster roots) that are extremely adept a mining nutrition from the soils. They are so well adapted to the old southern hemisphere soils and their low organic nutrient content that they have no upper limit as to the amount of phosphate uptake they can handle. This unfortunately means they are very negatively impacted by high phosphates and as such this is more often their cause of death (or phytopthora) than climate conditions.
I grow over 100 different members of the proteaceae here in North Wales about 50% of which are growing outside. They are growing in specially made beds for the more wet intolerant species and in our open garden for those from higher rainfall zones. I am lucky that I have a particularly sheltered garden and don't doubt that we will one-day see a winter that will have a devastating impact but I keep potted backup of all my plants so hopefully will be able to ride that storm.
Protea cynaroides is currently flowering in our garden and has seen -6c and 12" of snow!

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