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The 2017 International Protea Association (IPA) Grower’s Day was held on September 4th, in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Farmers, propagators, breeders, educators, researchers and marketers gathered in an open forum of communication and friendship to promote and expand the protea industry. The event drew nearly 100 attendees from 10 countries. Grower’s Day topics included: Strategic Intelligence – thinking the future, Effect of domestic economic trend of SA flower market, Importance of temperature management in the cut flower value, Providing assurance in the wild fynbos sector and Will fynbos change with climate change? In addition, Area Reports from South Africa, USA, Canary Islands, Azores, Australia, Chile, Israel, New Zealand and Portugal were presented covering each country’s current status of Proteaceae production and future outlooks. The reports were also submitted to the International Society for Horticulture Science (ISHS) and will become part of the conference proceedings pub...

Fynbos - pronounced fain-boss - is the vegetation that is found growing naturally on the the mountains and coastal plains of south-western tip of South Africa. It is unique to this area. The name comes from the Dutch fijn and bosch meaning fine bush referring to the very small leaves and flowers of many of the species. Fynbos makes up 80% of the Cape Floristic Region (often called the Cape Floral Kingdom). Fynbos is characterized by the presence of four main plant groups: Restios, proteas, heaths and geophytes, as well as seven plant families that only occur in fynbos. Restios Protea Silver Tree Leucadendron and Mimetes Heaths Bruniaceae What's so special about fynbos? Fynbos is amazingly diverse and exceptionally rich in species, and it occupies a relatively tiny area of land. Over 7,000 species occur in 41,000 km, and 80% of them occur nowhere else on Earth. The Cape Peninsula alone has 2,600 species - that's more than the total number of species in the British Isles - cramme...

The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest of all floral kingdoms and is the only one to fall completely inside the borders of a single country. It occupies about 90,000 square kilometers - that's only 0.04% of the total surface area of the Earth - yet it contains 9000 species of flowering plants - that's about 3% of the Earth's species. Furthermore, two out of three of the Cape Floral Kingdom species are endemic, that means they occur nowhere else on earth. The highest level of endemism in the world. What is a Floral Kingdom? Floral Kingdoms are the largest natural units that can be determined for flowering plants. Regions that share the same combination of plant families form part of the same Floral Kingdom. There are six Floral Kingdoms in the world: Australian, Antarctic, Cape, Holarctic, Neotropical and Palaeotropical. The Cape Floral Kingdom is a World Heritage Site.

Pinita just recently entered the Protea scene and has done so with quite a splash! Considered a hybrid queen, this flower is a blend of P. magnifica (queen) and P. longifolia. Pinita has a medium-to-large bloom with a slightly waxen appearance, obviously more longifolia influence and lacking the woolly beards of the magnifica. The floral bracts are beautifully flushed and tipped in a bright chili-pepper pink, then shading to cream at the base. The central peaked dome is heavily tipped with black, providing for a strong and interesting contrast. Pinita looks great mixed with other protea or combined with an array other colorful flowers and foliage. Here's are just some of the lovely ways we've found her being displayed!