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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Proteaceae (Proteas) |
| Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Red |
| Bloomtime: Fall/Winter |
| Height: 6-8 feet |
| Width: 4-6 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Protea obtusifolia (Limestone Sugarbush) - Well shaped shrub to 9 feet tall with rich dark green leaves and large flowers with tightly overlapping pinkish red petals in fall though winter with some flowers lingering into spring. Plant in full sun in most any soil including clay and alkaline soils. Once established this plant is drought tolerant, requiring little irrigation. This long cultivated Protea is noted both for its beautiful flowers and for its reliability in the garden with long life and great tolerance for coastal conditions and alkaline soils (as high as pH 8.4). It is a great choice as a screening or hedge plant. To encourage dense growth and good branching structure plants should be pruned at a young age. The one drawback of this species is that it is not particularly cold hardy and early frosts can damage new growth, flowers and buds so protection may be required if temperatures drop below 29 F. Short stems have made this plant less desirable as a florist crop but flowers are extremely attractive and hold well in the vase. Photo courtesy of Jo O'Connell of Australian Native Plant Nursery in Ojai, CA.
This information about Protea obtusifolia displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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