Protea repens
Protea repens
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Requires a very well-drained light soil[1, 2], preferably on the poor side[3], with plenty of humus and sand[1]. Requires a pH of 6.5 or lower[3]. Plants are very sensitive to nitrates and phosphates in the soil, these can prove toxic even at moderate levels[3]. Plants may also suffer from magnesium deficiency[3]. Requires a position with good air circulation[1, 2], but sheltered from cold winds[3]. Dislikes warm sultry or windless days[1, 2]. Requires full exposure to the sun[3]. Not very hardy in Britain, but they can be grown outdoors in selected areas. Plants tolerate temperatures down to about -6°c, although prolonged frosts, or frosts combined with cold dry winds will cause damage[2]. They are best grown in a cool greenhouse, but plants can be placed outdoors in the summer[1]. A very ornamental plant[1]. A good bee plant, providing an abundance of nectar[4, 5]. Protea repens occurs in fire prone vegetation, where natural fires occur every ten to thirty years[5]. This 'Mediterranean' type of vegetation grows in soils with very low amounts of nutrients. These nutrients are used up by the plants during their lifetime and need to be returned to the soil to provide the food for a new generation of plants[5]. Protea repens is adapted to survive the fires by producing seeds throughout its lifetime, some of the seeds being distributed and stored in the soil, others being stored in the old seedheads, which will only be stimulated to open and release the seeds when the plant dies or is killed by fire[5]. These natural fires occur mainly in late summer or autumn and are followed by the first winter rains, which provide the moisture the young seedlings need to grow to a size at which they can survive the long, hot summer[5]. Plants are intolerant of root disturbance and should be grown in pots until they are planted into their final positions[1].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in individual pots in a greenhouse. See notes above on soil requirements. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood. mid summer in a frame[3]. Cuttings are made from semi-hardwood, 6-10 cm long, of the current season's growth[5]. The cuttings are dipped for about four seconds in a rooting hormone solution and placed in a growing house with bottom heat (25ºC) and intermittent mist[5]. The rooted cuttings are potted up when the roots are well developed and planted out in the late autumn in South Africa, or in late spring in colder areas[5]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Protea+repens>
Pollinators
Bees
References
- [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
- [2]The Garden. Volume 113. — RHS. · Royal Horticultural Society · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
- [5]PlantZAfrica.com — http://www.plantzafrica.com ↩︎An excellent site giving detailed descriptions and uses of many S. African plants.
- [6]Flora of the Cape Peninsula. — Adamson. and Salter. ↩︎A good flora but rather short on details of habitat. Not for the casual reader.
- [7]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
- [8]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.