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This month Resendiz Brothers had the pleasure to host the California Protea Association’s (CPA) Fall meeting. The topic was – the International Protea Association (IPA) 2017 Conference and Pre-Conference Tour . It was our opportunity to shared what we learned while attending the conference in South Africa with the farmers here in California. The meeting started with the Area Report that Mel presented during the IPA Grower’s Day covering California’s current status of protea production and future outlooks. A second slide-show followed with pictures taken during the IPA Conference and Tour, highlighting the farms that so graciously welcomed us. However, the evening wasn't just about IPA and South Africa, it was also about gathering together and catching up on what’s happening on the farms here in California. We prepared the typical ‘Resendiz Feast’ of Carne Asada, of course and dined outside on the patio. It was a delightful evening filled with good conversation, scrumptious food...

Upon moving from Cape Town to Citrusdal, South Africa, Neil and Olivia Hall were excited about the prospects of having the opportunity to live and work in the countryside. Although this small town is blessed with picturesque mountains and a vibrant community, the effects of alcoholism, child abuse, HIV Aids, underage pregnancy, poverty and more were evident and right on everyone’s door step! As the years went by, the Hall’s realized the problems and challenges that the community faced, particularly the youth, were only getting worse. This resulted in the birth of Hebron Community Projects (HCP) in 2008, a registered non-profit organization that aims to be a catalyst for positive change in Citrusdal and communities alike. HCP has a particular focus on youth by providing programs and facilities that will allow for qualified personnel to counsel, teach, train, and provide a safe haven for youth at risk. Since establishing Philadelphia Farming, Neil and Olivia have been looking for ways to...

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...

South Africa’s Western Cape is one of the country’s most beautiful provinces, attracting a lion’s share of tourists. It is a region of majestic mountains, long beaches and colorful patchworks of farmland set in lovely valleys. With a total area of 129,462 square kilometres, the Western Cape is roughly the size of Greece. The Mediterranean climate of the peninsula and the mountainous region beyond it is ideal for flower farming and there are a number of family farms producing an excellent range of flowers. However, if you’re passionate about Protea there’s no other place on Earth like the Cape Floristic Region – The Home of Proteaceae! That’s exactly why we made it a point to attend this year’s International Protea Association (IPA) Conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The IPA Pre-Conference Tour took place on September 1st & 2nd and featured four fabulous flower farms: Arnelia Farms, Pomona Farm, Philadelphia Farm and Jansekraal. Our first stop on the morning of the 1st (and...

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.