13 Stunning Protea Flowers

Alien-like stamen emerge from a fuzzy center.

Bright red stamen with yellow tips give this pincushion the appearance of a fireball in motion.

Elongated flowers come in a piercingly bright shade of yellow.

Dome-shaped yellow pincushion flowers resemble a mass of insect antennae.

The center of these pincushion flowers resemble bright red ribbons, hence the name of this total stunner.

Endemic to Australia and commonly known as waratah, this Protea-family member is the floral emblem of New South Wales.

In its bud stage, the king protea is yet to reveal its showy insides, giving us a moment to admire the pale pink bracts.

Creamy bracts fringed with furry tips conceal a bright magenta center.

Golden yellow stamen stopped with bright pink tips extend outward, giving this flower an arachnoid feel.

Long orange flowers sit atop serrated green leaves. These giant blooms are great bird attractors.

Creamy white flowers with bright red centers make this flowering leucadendron a great addition to any bouquet.

Loved for its foliage, ‘Red Gem’ has green leaves with green and red bracts.

Pink bracts form a cone-shaped flower that looks almost luminous.

Unless you have the perfect conditions for proteas (plenty of sunshine, dry summers, and fast-draining soil), enjoying the blooms as cut flowers is your best bet. Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers, in Rainbow, California (pictured, resendizbrothers.com), is currently wholesale only, but is slated to launch The Protea Store for retail orders of Protea along with Banksia, Grevillea, Leucadendron, Leucospermum, and others by early 2015. Western farmers who sell to the public: Rainbow Protea (rainbowprotea.com), also in San Diego County, and Kula Farm Flowers (kulafarm.com), on Maui.

Sturdy stems and long-lasting blooms make proteas the perfect cut flowers. Extend their life in a vase by following these steps:

• Snip off about 1⁄4 inch from the end of the stem.
• Strip stems of any leaves that will be below the water’s surface.
• Add 1⁄4 teaspoon of bleach per quart of water to prevent algae from growing—or change water daily.
• Keep out of direct sunlight.

Faded blooms often dry without losing any petals or leaves, and they can last for years. Stand the stems in an empty bucket or vase, or hang them upside down (they’ll lose their shape if stored in a pile or on a flat surface). Expect the colors to fade to shades of tan.