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Fynbos and Protea discussion comment:
Where have all the flowers gone? - Julie November 03, 2000
As a comment to r: Dammed funny thing my protea won't flower either. - John, November 02, 2000 :
- This is what I posted back to Kevins question:
Proteas are very sensitive to fertilizers. They generally grow in nutrient poor soil and have very low requirements for phosphorus & potassium especially. They can in fact be poisoned by these. Generally it is not recommended to give them fertilizer. Yet it has been shown in very, very poor soil conditions, that addition of specific fertilizers has shown to improve growth rate and flower quality.
The fertilizers recommended are as follows:
-slow release fertilizer beads eg. NPK (low phosphorous),NK (zero phosphorous)
-Soluble NPK (low phosphorous) through drip systems
-Nitrogen eg. urea formaldehyde or ammonium sulphate
-Potassium chloride (for soils low in potassium)
Addition of trace elements can also be beneficial - iron, magnesium & copper are required in very small quantities.
The fertilizer we sell on our website has all the above in it and is specially formulated to fertilize proteacea.
The timing of when you add the fertilizer is also important-should be before growth seasons of autumn and spring, soil should be moist and the fertilizers well watered in. Two to three small applications a year would also be better than one large one which may be poisonous to the plant.
I can't find any other specific information about what you should do.
You could perhaps try our protea research unit at: fynbos@igs5.agric.za
Hope this helps.
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