Protea

Doesn't anyone have a good source for Protea seeds?

Thanks,
Daisy

Site showing HOW to grow Protea from seeds:

http://finebushpeople.co.za/

Here's another site with growing instructions:

http://kumbulanursery.co.za/blog/obtaining-and-growing-protea-seeds

You can order seeds from these companies, who ship to the USA:

SilverHill Seeds

FineBushPeople.co.za

State-side, I found these suppliers:

For all your Protea needs, contact Protea USA –
southern California’s Protea Nursery Experts!

Lawrence Kellar (951) 970-1595
Dennis Perry (805) 630-0975
Rua Petty (760) 594-2576

And finally - this USA seller of Protea seeds:

http://www.rusticranch.com/store/index.html

Protea has some very specific growing needs which no one has found a work around for.

They grow high up on Haleakala, Maui, HI with cool nites & warm days in the volcanic soils. They are also being grown in the mts of CA - also cooler nites.

Depends on which "Proteas" you're talking about. If it's generally about Protea (Proteaceae) family plants, they grow anywhere from cool mountains, hot deserts, rainforests, swamps, etc., etc. The majority, however, are from a mediterranean climate and would do well in places like California. Macadamia are Protea family plants, but from a more temperate rainforest type climate.

If you're talking about Protea genus, then that's more restricted, being mainly mediterranean climate plants.

Hm, I always thought they were native to South Africa but this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protea says they are native to S. America, Australia and parts of Asia, too. Seems like they were introduced to Europe, but the greatest diversity of types is in South Africa.

Such interesting plants, wish we could grow them here, but it's definitely too warm and tropical in summer.

That article is about the genus Protea which is pretty much South African. That's what needs a Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers, colder wetter winters.