"A Bee's Delight"
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| Scientific Name: | Protea cultivar Bush Fire |
| Common Name: | Protea Bush Fire |
| Plant Family: | Proteaceae |
Would you like to light up your garden and attract the bees? Well you can with Protea cultivar Bush Fire. This cultivar is a selected form of Protea aurea subspecies aurea. 'Bush Fire' certainly is an apt name for this selected form, as you will see when you view the two plants from the Visitors Centre viewing deck at the top right of the Rock Garden. This cultivar is a prolific flowerer with its multitude of pink flowers appearing to set the plant's on fire. The attraction of Protea aurea subspecies aurea was not even missed by the Empress Josephine who had this beautiful species gracing her glass houses at Malmaison in France about 1810. Both the birds and the bees delight in fossicking for nectar in the open flowers.
Protea cultivar Bush Fire is fairly adaptable in cultivation. There is the added bonus of being able to cut the flowers for indoor arrangements or just leave the flowers for the birds and bees to enjoy.
Jan Allen
Garden Information Officer