It’s May and we're definitely feeling majestic vibes! It is safe to say our spring King harvest has been bountiful. These chic beauties offer an enchanting world filled with color, texture, and sizes to try. Captivated by the King? We figured if you love them as we do, you’d want to know a few interesting facts about this stunning Protea.
The artichoke-like appearance of the blooms nod to the name ‘cynaroides’, which means ‘like cynara’… the artichoke. The term does no justice to these beautiful blooms as they are the largest in the genus. Some eighty variants of Kings have been depicted, and they're divided into groups according to their leaf type. The leathery leaves vary from large and rounded to small and narrow and their huge flowers can be wide open, almost like a 12” dinner plate or a narrow funnel shape. These flower heads consist of numerous small, tubular-shaped blooms or also called an inflorescence. Their color can range from greenish white to soft silvery pink and deep red, with each kind having its own flowering time.
King Protea are perennial plants that can survive many years in the wild. They also tolerate fires thanks to their thick underground stem filled with numerous dormant buds which starts to sprout shortly after a fire. Fires also assist with drying the cones and releasing seed, while the wind helps spread the seed and seasonal rain triggers germination.
Kings have evolved to survive in the harsh climates, while attracting pollinators at the same time. Obviously, a very compatible combination as these Protea are some of the most ancient flowers, evolving more than one hundred million years ago.
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