Protea and Leucadendron Growing – New Zealand

In New Zealand Proteas and leucadendrons are grown for export to Pacific rim markets. The large stiff majestic protea blooms in pinks, whites and greens, with petals finished in feathery wafting tips. Leucadendrons are glossier, almost waxen, in fine rich reds, yellows, bright greens and oranges, the shrub changing colour in colder times of year.

Proteaceae, as they’re officially named, prefer a well drained, sunny growing environment. They’re not keen on wet feet but adapt well to acidic ground. The plants need good air movement around them and don’t mind a little wind. Drought hardy, older protea crops barely register a six month drought while younger crops are definitely punished but recover.

Exporting Cut Proteas and Leucadendrons

 More than 50% of one NZ protea and leucadendron growers’s produce goes direct to Japan. This particular growers sells his remaining 50% to exporters for markets in the US, New Caledonia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The stems are a welcome perennial in the Japanese floristry industry because they last exceptionally well. A cut protea or leucadendron kept in cool conditions will look good for around three weeks, and because of this, they are popular for dressing Japanese grave sites and honouring ancestors. They also proliferate at Japanese festivals. As primary producers, protea growers are governed by markets subject to exchange rate fluctuations.This affects all primary producers, but protea growers know they can ship their entire harvest chilled, to Japanese auction rooms. The sturdy blooms are packaged according to their length, 25 to 100 per box, and flown to their destinations.

Essential to the flower growing operation is superior quality-assurance in the packhouse. Each bloom must be minutely inspected for insects, and they’re carefully checked under a combination of natural daylight and fluorescent lighting, before being sorted. Best picked early in the morning, many blooms come into the packhouse with dew on them as the weather cools. These are stood in buckets below a fan to evapourate the moisture without adversely affecting the flower.

Serious protea and leucadendron growers manage 15 acres or more of a number of varieties. This is real cropping, cyclic and intense. Several varieties of proteas means several ripening times. As one variety finishes cropping, the next one begins. A growing operation like this operates under a strict regime of spraying, cropping, pruning, and propagating all year. Once the blooms mature, the proteas are cut and loaded onto a trailer to be brought in to the packhouse for inspection, drying, sorting, and packaging. Somewhere, in another part of the world, a beautiful protea unfurls its sugarbush glory for the pleasureof those who enjoy blooms they can’t grow themselves.

Copyright