Protea cynaroides

We also grow a plant named Protea cyanoides 'Pink King'. While Protea cynarioides (this guide) will typically have flowers in shades of pink it is seed grown and thus flowers are more variable than the cultivar 'Pink King' which is grown from cuttings to have consistently large pink flowers.

Proteas can be kept smaller by pruning, but don't prune more than two years of growth where there are no leaves and the branches are woody. Proteas can even be espaliered or pruned into a loose informal screen.

By tip-pinching buds early on (each time they have grown a few leaves), you can force your protea to become more dense. Since they bloom on the terminal buds, this will delay flowering.

Proteas have evolved to live in very poor soils, and so they should never have phosphorus fertilizer, which many a grower has learned the hard way. If you give your protea all-purpose fertilizer, it'll likely be completely dead within a couple weeks. They do respond well to light acidic fertilizer, such as cotton seed meal, or nitrogen fertilizers such as blood meal and fish emulsion. Generally its better to sit back and see how the plant grows without fertilzier, which is typically not needed.

Their coveted flowers on stiff stems are long-lasting after they're cut, perfect for arrangements.