Supplement to "Die Burger" 26 September 2007

http://www.dieburger.com/Stories/Features/Leefstyl/15.0.3124794219.aspx

Compiled by Anna Celliers
Translated by Johanna Hettasch

They are not the ordinary finger-length specimen in dusty nursery bags. Oh no, this year there are showy plants with fresh, green healthy foliage covered in flowerheads, some of which have already opened. The plants are knee-high, well-branched and planted in sturdy pots. Perfect to take home.

I was interested to see where these boutique-plants are so expertly cultivated and wanted to know more about their care. Members of the Proteaceae -family have earned the unfortunate reputation that their roots do not easily anchor in home gardens.

Just outside Hopefield, I got to see fields of pincushions, conebushes and proteas planted in neat rows - the beautiful export flowers of Hans Hettasch of Arnealia Proteaceae. Hans relates that they started by rooting cuttings from showy mother stock for local cutflower producers, as well as for export.

In due course, they started to cultivate foliage plants like Leucadendron , exceptionally beautiful hybrids from Protea cynaroides , Protea repens, Protea compacta, P. eximia and P. magnifica . Experts experimented with various Leucospermum -species and, the final product - showy hybrids that produce pincushion flowers in shades of soft yellow, flaming orange, salmon- pink and lipstick-red were bred and planted.

However, as an enterprising horticulturist and businessman, Hans continued to look for new avenues to market these beautiful flowers. More and more landscape contractors approached him for quality indigenous plants for the lay-out of local gardens. He decided to start on a small scale, producing top quality plants in pots for the nursery trade.

It took a great deal of thought, clever use of the secateurs, the correct growth medium, fertilizers and optimal position for cultivation to get these plants, which are actually hardier than old running shoes and grow in the most inhospitable places in nature, to thrive and exhibit their beauty in the confinement of a nursery pot.

This year, when they had sufficient stock, he could realize his dream and introduce the pot plants. Trucks from the largest retail nurseries, as far afield as Johannesburg , are sent to collect stock. Arnelia plants are apparently selling like hot cakes!

Hans maintains that any gardener can own a pincushion or a conebush in flower, either on a sunny balcony or merely on a window sill. Should you not have been successful with proteas in your garden, do not walk past these plants. Buy them, leave them in the pots, put them on the verandah (in full sunlight) and appreciate the lovely flowers that last for months.

When they have finished flowering and you cannot plant them in your garden or give them to another gardener who would like to grow them, throw them on the compost heap. Considering the price of the plant (less than a big bunch of fresh flowers) and the long flowering season, it is well worth-while, under certain circumstances, to regard the protea in a pot as a throw-away pleasure plant.

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