protea pruning

 Folks, live in the Adelaide hills with a nice garden that includes one 1.5
metre protea (silver ice, I think) that is flowering very well on every
stem.  The bush is almost too big for the roots and stem.  Although staked
up I think I need to prune after the flowers loose there colour.  However,
the flowers are at the junction of 5 or 6 other stems that also have flowers
or flower like things starting.  There doesn't seem to be any stem at the
junction to cut the flower off from.  Most articles I have seem talk about
leaving 10 to 15cm of stem.  I also have one or two flowers that have opened
up all the way and are starting to look like they are dying so wish to prune
them out.  Help ( no skills what soever as a gardener except that everything
I plant seems to go berserk and grow!! go figure)

regards, in anticipation

--
Don From Down Under

 

flowers

everything

I guess that you do what you do with roses when they have 4 or 5 flowers and
that is to take the spent ones off and leave the flowers and buds.

Does your protea have a thick base at ground level? It could have a
lignotuber which would allow you to cut it down to ground level. Which would
result in new growth springing up. But if it is thin at the base I'd just
prune down the stem under the flowers. There could be dormant buds which
would appear as small swellings or nodes. The idea is to cut above one of
these.

Oh and if anything results in it's loss. Just keep in mind there is always
another plant.

Cheers

Richard

 Thanks

Don

 Don wrote:

Normally the new bypass shoots which come from around the flower head
should be rubbed off to stop them growing, leaving you with a single
stem with a flower head at the top.
If Silver Ice is anything like Pink Ice it is a very prolific flowerer,
and responds well to pruning, even on older wood.
Yes, you normally need to leave 2 to 2 inches of stem; preferably this
season's growth.