Growing Protea

Gem Squash Seed Now Available

2009-04-04T13:36:00.000-07:00

Gem Squash and flat white ‘Boer Pampoen’ seed Gem Squash and flat white ‘Boer Pampoen’ seed packets now available!

Order at: Gem Squash Seed

Gem Squash and flat white ‘Boer Pampoen’ love a sunny spot - the more sun the better, and if they could talk, their first words would be: 'Gimme a drink, I'm thirsty!'

New features on DiscoverProtea.com

2009-01-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Some of the new site features include:

ship to multiple addresses (order a Protea bouquet for a friend and Protea seed for yourself in one transaction)
save your shipping addresses for future orders
add a gift message for each recipient
add items to your personal wish list and send your list to a friend
compare products in easily to ensure you get exactly the benefits you are after
check out as a guest or create an account with DiscoverProtea.com
vote in the community poll
easy search function and add your own identifying tags to a product
review products and share your experience with other shoppers
receive discounts and coupons through RSS feeds and Google Reader
and many more benefits

Visit Discover Protea

DiscoverProtea.com New Web Site

2009-01-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

DiscoverProtea.com Press Release

New web site

2009-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends;

Our new re-designed web site is finally up. Take a look at Discover Protea and let us know what you think.

Thank you for all your loyal support. All the best for 2009.

Best regards;
Eugene

Free Shipping on Mother's Day Protea Bouquets

2008-05-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Free Shipping on all Mother\'s Day Protea Bouquets...

Visit Discover Protea to order

May Newsletter Now Available

2008-05-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day shipping schedule

She’s a trusted confidant and a lifelong role model, the
woman who not only gave you life but also made you who you
are today. She’s occasionally critical, but more often
inspiring, and you know she’ll always forgive your
indiscretions as quickly as she revels in your successes.
She’s your mother, and she deserves flowers.

All Mother's Day orders will ship Wednesday May the 7th for
a timely Mother's Day delivery.

Order now

Topic of the month…Floral Gift Tips for Mom

A gift of flowers is a symbol of life and beauty. Make your
mother feel vibrant, beautiful and incredibly special with
a unique bouquet of flowers that you personalize.

Read more...follow this link

Offers from Gardener's Supply Company

2008-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day Protea Bouquets

2008-01-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

Protea Flower Bouquets With Free Shipping For Vale...

February, 2008 @ 1888PressRelease.com

Protea flower bouquets with free shipping for Valentines Day

2008-01-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

For only $59.95, DiscoverProtea.com will deliver a Designer Grade Protea Bouquets this Valentines Day. Place orders before Monday February 11th to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

Press Release: Protea flower bouquets with free shipping for Valentine’s Day

Valley Center, CA -- February 01, 2008 -- DiscoverProtea.com is pleased to announce free shipping on their fresh protea bouquets only offered at the website http://www.DiscoverProtea.com. For only $59.95, they will deliver a Mixed #1 Select Designer Grade Valentine's Protea Bouquet.

“Let love blossom. Beautiful Protea flowers should be displayed without distraction, a wonderful flower arrangement that is elegant, simple and exotic. This Valentine’s Day, share the beauty of a Protea bouquet with someone you love; spoil them with a long-lasting Protea arrangement”, according to Eugene Brill, owner and operator of DiscoverProtea.com.

Place your orders before Monday February 11th at to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

Want to try your hand at growing proteas from seed? Visit the Protea Seed Starter Pack page for tips and information on growing Protea.

Go to DiscoverProtea.com to sign up for their monthly newsletter about Proteas. This Protea farm shares information about growing Proteas and taking care of Protea bouquets freely. Cape Flower Fields is an operating flower farm located in Southern California. Varieties grown on the farm include Pink Ice Protea, Pink Mink, Sugarbush, Pincushions as well as various varieties of Banksia and numerous Cape Greens.

Remember to order your Valentine's protea bouquet.

Protea…flowers beyond the ordinary

# # # #

CONTACT: Cape Flower Fields
Eugene Brill, 760-259-2001
http://www.DiscoverProtea.com
SOURCE: Cape Flower Fields, Valley Center, California, USA

February Protea Newsletter

2008-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome to 'PEP', our “Protea Education Program”. Our ultimate goal is to educate and inform about the benefits of Protea...flowers beyond the ordinary TM. Your questions, comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

If you missed any previous issues of the “Proteaceae 101” newsletter, please visit this page our Protea Tips and News page.

Valentines Day shipping schedule

Let love blossom. Beautiful Protea flowers belong in a vase that shows them off without distraction, a wonderful display that’s elegant, simple, and exotic. This Valentine’s Day,
indulge yourself or share the elegance of a Protea bouquet with someone you love; either way, you’ll be happy you did.

All Valentines Day orders will ship Tuesday February the 11th for a timely Valentines Day delivery. Order now. Order your Valentines Day Protea Bouquets from DiscoverProtea.com.

Topic of the month…a little Protea history

From the time that Jan van Riebeeck landed in Table Bay at the southern most tip of the African continent, an ever increasing number of Cape plants made its way to Holland and Dutch gardens. Not unnaturally, the Dutch favored bulbous plants and succulents, with the results that protea were virtually unknown except for the occasional plant in the Amsterdam botanical gardens.

Far to the north, in Sweden, a young medical student made his way to the more affluent Holland to complete his higher medical degree. His name was Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778) and is considered by many as the ‘father’ of protea because he launching Protea into the botanical literature. He was a keen botanist and spent many hours studying and cataloguing these magnificent flowers. Even then, the Dutch did not pay much attention to this mysterious plant. It would be years later that another Swede, Carl Peter Thunberg, possibly Linnaeus’s most gifted pupil, stepped ashore in Southern African, and in the shadow of Table Mountain, started studying Protea in its natural environment. While Thunberg’s interest in Protea was purely academical, his sometime traveling companion, a young Scottish gardener named Francis Masson, had rather more ambitious designs on the Cape flora.

In 1772 George III appointed Sir Joseph Banks as the Scientific Advisor to the Royal Gardens in Kew. Francis Masson was amongst Banks’ first appointments and was off to South Africa on a quest for new plant material. And that’s how Protea got introduced to England. And it was the common Sugarbush - Protea repens, raised from seed by Masson in 1774, that was the first recorded Protea to flower away from it’s native land.

Source: The Proteas of Southern Africa by J.P. Rourke

Want to try your hand at growing proteas from seed? Visit our Protea Seed Starter Pack Page now.

Did you know that Proteas ranks the highest amongst cut flowers when it comes to vase life? Order your Valentines Day Protea Bouquets now.

If you’re looking for a gift idea, something special for your Valentine, you might consider our one-minute diamond and jewelry cleaner for only $4.99. Manufacturer's money back guarantee included.

Best regards,
Eugene
DiscoverProtea.com

Proteas in the bouquets for January

2008-01-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

We are at the end of the Pink Ice and at the beginning of the Pink Mink seasons. There are still some Sugarbush every now-and-then. The Australian waxflowers are just starting and we try to include them if we have any. Sunset Safari are at their peak and they add that dark red/maroon to the bouquets. We always include a little eucalyptus (for fragrance) and Myrtle for color.

The weather has been playing tricks with us in Southern California - hot, cold, rainy, dry - all in a three week period!

Regards;
Eugene
http://www.DiscoverProtea.com

Growing Protea from seed

2008-01-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

We are only two months away from starting to grow Protea from seed.

The Proteaceae family is found in a vast variety of vegetations, from savannas
and grassland to heavily overgrown hillsides. They thrive in areas that are
prone to periodic veldt fires. Many of the Proteaceae have evolved specialized
survival techniques in response to these fires. Their strong root systems and
thick bark on some varieties, have given these extraordinary plants the ability
survive the heat and smoke generated by fires. In fact, fire and smoke provide
the major trigger in the wild for the Protea seeds to start the germination
process. Seed can lie dormant for years waiting for the right conditions,
usually brought on by wild fires. For these fire-sensitive species, habitat
burning is the single most important cue for triggering germination of the
dormant seed.

In growing fire-prone floras commercially, particularly those of Mediterranean
zones, a solution had to be found to germinate the Proteaceae seed, without
burning your growing fields every year. Following the discovery that smoke
stimulated germination of this rare South African Proteaceae, the exploration of
the benefits of smoke-mediated germination has expanded to different parts of
the world and has been applied in nurseries and in rare flora conservation.

Protea Seed Starter packs available from DiscoverProtea.com

Next, we'll explore germination of Proteaceae seed by using smoke.

Protea Newsletter

2007-12-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

DiscoverProtea.com is pleased to offer free shipping on all fresh Christmas Protea flower bouquets

December Newsletter now available.

Valley Center, CA – www.DiscoverProtea.com is pleased to announce free shipping on their festive fresh Protea bouquets only offered at the website Order Protea Bouquet to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

The holidays are here. Santa will be arriving on a Tuesday this year, which means the last day to order Christmas Protea Bouquets falls rather early this year: Tuesday, December 18th. Holiday orders will be shipped on Wednesday December 19th to ensure a timely delivery. Each shipment offers a minimum of seven (7) seasonal Protea blooms, surrounded by Leucadendron, 'Cape Greens', Eucalyptus, and other ornamental freshly cut foliage.

Place your orders before Tuesday December 18th at Order Protea Bouquet to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

The holidays is a time of celebration, a time to share in nature’s beauty, time to share in the season’s rich colors, and, most importantly, enjoy the company and affection of friends and loved ones. Bring some of California’s brilliant colors indoors with a Protea bouquet from www.DiscoverProtea.com. A Protea arrangement that embraces the many colors of the turning leaves and, of course, the unmistakable uniqueness and beauty of fresh Protea flowers.

If you’re looking for a gift idea, a stocking stuffer, you might consider the one-minute diamond and jewelry cleaner for only $4.99. Manufacturer's money back guarantee included and receive a free Diafluora jewel.

Protea…flowers beyond the ordinary

# # # #

November 2007 Protea Newsletter

2007-11-12T20:19:00.001-08:00

Your November 2007 issue is now available at November 2007 Newsletter.

If you missed any previous issues of the “Proteaceae 101” newsletter,
please visit this page our Protea Tips and News page.

Thank you for being patient during our web site upgrade.
You may look at it and say “It looks the same as
before”. Well, it does. Our redesign was not cosmetic,
but improvements were made behind the scenes. Our parent
company, Protea Media Management, launched a Search Engine
Optimization project to attract more Protea-lovers to
DiscoverProtea. We also launched ProteaInfo.com, a site designed
entirely in Flash (Flash technology has become a popular method for
adding animation and interactivity to web pages).

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of methodologies
aimed at improving the ranking of web sites in the search
engine listings. In order for a web site to be relevant to
its users (display the information they are looking for),
you need three elements to be present: a solid business
strategy, excellent design management skills and keeping up
with the latest technology. If you are successful in
achieving the above, the search engines will see your
content as relevant and display your web site to searchers
looking for your products or information. We are confident
we are meeting the needs of our customers.

Thanksgiving shipping schedule

Thanksgiving is a time of celebration, a time to share in
nature’s beauty, share in the season’s rich colors,
and, most importantly, enjoy the company and affection of
our friends and loved ones. Bring some of the fall’s
brilliance indoors with a Protea Bouquet that embraces the
many colors of the turning leaves and, of course, the
unmistakable uniqueness and beauty of Proteas. Please place
your Thanksgiving orders before Sunday November 18th to
ensure a timely delivery. Order your Thanksgiving Protea
Bouquets here

Topic of the month…Meet the Proteas of Hawaii

“In the plant kingdom, there is nothing quite like the
exuberant and resourceful family of flowering shrubs known
as the proteas. During the past few decades, the
flower-friendly Hawaiian islands have given this
Southern-Hemisphere group a new and particularly favorable
home. Hawaii’s proteas are new—and they are the flowers
of the future”. Read more about this fascinating book here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, from all of us at DiscoverProtea.

Best regards;
Eugene

Topic of the month…Protea vs. the Giant Sequoia

2007-11-07T13:39:00.000-08:00

Giant Sequoia is the world's largest tree in terms of total volume. They grow to
an average height of 50-85 m (150-280 ft) and 5-7 m (16-23 ft) in diameter.
Record trees have been reported to be 93.6 m (307 ft) in height and 8.85 m (29
ft) in diameter. The oldest known Giant Sequoia based on ring count is 3,200
years old. The Giant Sequoias are having difficulty reproducing in their
original habitat (and very rarely reproduce in cultivation) due to the seeds
only being able to grow successfully in mineral soils in full sunlight, free
from competing vegetation. Although the seeds can germinate in moist needle
humus in the spring, these seedlings will die as the duff dries in the summer.
They therefore require periodic wildfire to clear competing vegetation and soil
humus before successful regeneration can occur. Without fire, shade-loving
species will crowd out young sequoia seedlings, and sequoia seeds will not
germinate. When full grown, these trees typically require large amounts of
water and are therefore often concentrated near streams.

Below are two Giant Sequoias, Sequoia National Park. Note the large fire scar
at the base of the right-hand tree; fires do not kill the trees but do remove
competing thin-barked species, and aid Giant Sequoia regeneration.

Sequoia Trees

Fires also bring hot air high into the canopy via convection, which in turn
dries and opens the cones. The subsequent release of large quantities of seeds
coincides with the optimal post-fire seedbed conditions. Loose ground ash may
also act as a cover to protect the fallen seeds from ultraviolet radiation
damage.

So, you ask, what does this have to do with growing Protea. Well, fire and
germination off course.

The Proteaceae family is found in a vast variety of vegetations, from savannas
and grassland to heavily overgrown hillsides. They thrive in areas that are
prone to periodic veldt fires. Many of the Proteaceae have evolved specialized
survival techniques in response to these fires. Their strong root systems and
thick bark on some varieties, have given these extraordinary plants the ability
survive the heat and smoke generated by fires. In fact, fire and smoke provide
the major trigger in the wild for the Protea seeds to start the germination
process. Seed can lie dormant for years waiting for the right conditions,
usually brought on by wild fires. For these fire-sensitive species, habitat
burning is the single most important cue for triggering germination of the
dormant seed.

In growing fire-prone floras commercially, particularly those of Mediterranean
zones, a solution had to be found to germinate the Proteaceae seed, without
burning your growing fields every year. Following the discovery that smoke
stimulated germination of this rare South African Proteaceae, the exploration
of the benefits of smoke-mediated germination has expanded to different parts
of the world and has been applied in nurseries and in rare flora conservation.

It became clear that seed dormancy of Protea seed is broken when 1) the seeds
absorb water; 2) the seed are subject to relatively low temperatures; and 3)
the seeds have been exposed to smoke. Various methods have been tried; aerosol
smoke, smoke dissolved in water and solids (activated clays or sand particles)
that have been smoked have all been effective in promoting Proteaceae seed
germination. Various chemicals have also been found to break dormancy in the
seed, and even soaking the seed in green tea have been reported to trigger
germination in some varieties.

Web closure - www.DiscoverProtea.com

2007-09-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT MESSAGE – We are undergoing scheduled maintenance on our web sites and flower operations from September 24th to October 21st. We will not be able to process any new orders during this time. Recurring orders and orders placed before September 24th will go out as scheduled. Due to our continued growth, we are changing, but, staying the same. Thanks to all the overwhelming support and positive feedback we have received over the past two years, we are streamlining our operations. Our Protea bouquets will remain the same (if it ain’t broke , don’t fix it), our Protea Seed Starter Packs will remain the same, we will be adding more jewelry items and the web sites and logistics will be overhauled. Thank you for your continued support and patients during this upgrade.

May 2007 Protea Newsletter

2007-05-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome to 'PEP', our “Protea Education Program”.
Our ultimate goal is to educate and inform about
the benefits of Protea...flowers beyond the ordinary.

The May 2007 Proteaceae Newsletter is now available.

Topic of the month…Saving South Africa's Floral Heritage

A lot is being said about state of our planet, with the
emphasis on environmental awareness, and the role that
each of us can play to protect our planet. On April 22nd
the world celebrated Earth Day. As an organic grower,
our mission is to broaden the environmental movement
worldwide and to educate people to take responsibility
for a clean and healthy environment. I came across a very
interesting article on the National Geographic web site
that I would like to share. The article deals
specifically with the Proteaceae industry, and the impact
climate change has on our industry.

For this month's issue, please follow this link (or cut and
paste into your browser):

http://www.DiscoverProtea.com/05_May_2007_Newsletter.htm

****************************************

Please place orders for your Mother's Protea Bouquets by Monday
May 7th to ensure a Mother's Day delivery. The Pincushions are blooming...
and we are shipping them!

Order Form

****************************************

If you missed any previous issues of “Proteaceae 101” please
visit this page:

http://www.DiscoverProtea.com/new_media.htm

Best regards;

Eugene
http://www.DiscoverProtea.com

It's time to plant...

2007-04-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

Easter Protea Bouquets

2007-04-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Cape Flower Fields is pleased to announce free shipping on our Fresh Easter Protea Bouquets offered on our website http://www.DiscoverProtea.com. For only $59.95, we will deliver a Mixed #1 Select Designer Grade Protea Bouquet this Easter.

Too grown up to believe in the bunny? Not a chocolate lover? Everyone deserves a surprise on Easter morning, and our lush Protea Bouquet is sure to bring a smile to any face. Protea flowers nestle in a bed of spectacular colorful wax flower, all accented by our exotic Cape Greens. Indulge in a festive adornment for your holiday table or a heartfelt gift for loved ones near or far.

Place your orders before Tuesday April 3rd at http://www.discoverprotea.com/protea_order.htm to take advantage of this free shipping offer.

Protea…flowers beyond the ordinary

Protea Jewelry at www.DiscoverProtea.com

2007-03-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

#1 Select Designer Grade Protea Bouquets

2005-11-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

# 1 Select Protea Bouquets available at http://www.DiscoverProtea.com

Growing Protea

2005-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

We are an operating Protea farms and would like to invite any questions or comments regarding the growing and taking care of Protea flowers. We propagate Protea from cuttings and seed and have a lot of experience with Protea flowers. We sell Protea Starter Seed Packs, #1 Select Designer Grade Protea Bouquets as well as other Protea related products from our website http://www.capeflowerfields.com.

I'm looking forward to sharing my passion with you.

Eugene