Of interest is the distribution of blooms during this one year period,
expressed as a percent of the annual total for each month (Table 1). Some
cultivars have a longer season of bloom than others. Among the seasonal
bloomers, it is possible to select cultivars to cover a large portion of
the year, although spring and summer months are not well represented.
Descriptions of some VOPI cultivars as provided by South Africa follow,
except the seasons of bloom are reported for Maui conditions.
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Protea repens types
'Guerna' was selected from the Kouga variant of P. repens. Flower
color: deep red. Peak flowering time: July-September, but scattered
flowers were cut throughout the year.
'Sneyd' has the medium-sized, deep red flower of the Alicedale variants.
It has high yield and good stem length. On Maui, it produced one flower
during April, but South Africa reports about a 6-week bloom period.
'Embers' has a medium-sized flower, each bract a deep red at the tip and
creamy-white basally. It has a shiny, smooth texture, and flowers after
'Sneyd' in South Africa, but concurrently with 'Sneyd' in April on Maui.
South Africa recommends it for garden use.
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Protea magnifica types
'Susara' is a hybrid between P. magnifica and P. susannae.
It produces small to medium flowers with an unusual shape, having soft
salmon-pink and light red shades. It produces a high yield on
exceptionally long stems. Its Maui flowering period was April, but South
Africa reports a 6- to 8-week bloom. It may tolerate a slightly alkaline
soil.
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Protea eximia types
'Cardinal' is an outstanding P. eximia type. It has a medium-sized
deep pink-red flower with a satin sheen; long, straight stems; and high
yield. Flowering time is January to May on Maui.
'Sylvia' has a medium-sized, deep pink-red, P. eximia type flower.
It has a high yield and flowers from January to mid-summer on Maui.
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except the seasons of
Protea compacta types
'Andrea' is a hybrid between P. compacta and P. magnifica.
It produces a large, striking, medium pink-red flower with numerous
series of bracts. It has high production; long, straight stems; and
flowers from mid-winter to spring in South Africa but produced three
flowers in January during its year of evaluation on Maui.
'Brenda' has medium-sized, deep-pink-red flowers with a shiny smooth
texture. It has a high yield and flowers from November to January on
Maui.
'Red Baron' is a P. obtusifolia X P. compacta hybrid with a
small- to medium-sized flower with dense brilliant, deep red bracts lined
with short, white hairs. It has a high yield and flowers from October
through March.
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Protea longifolia type
'Satin Pink' is a small, multi-pastel shaded flower with soft pink-red
and cream shades. It has a high yield but failed to flower on Maui in the
year of evaluation. In South Africa, it has a 3-month season in the
winter.
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Protea lacticolor type
'Ivy' has high yields; long, straight stems; and small foliage. It is
harvested in the elongated bud stage (candle) in South Africa. Bracts
pinkish. Not a VOPI selection, but a Protea Heights exclusive. A novelty.
Too few flowers to define a season in Hawaii, but its season should be
late summer to fall.
R.A. Criley, criley@hawaii.edu
Department of Horticulture, CTAHR
University of Hawaii at Manoa
P.E. Parvin, and P. Shingaki, ta_maui1@avax.ctahr.hawaii.
edu
HITAHR--Maui Branch Station
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