Protea Flower – Meaning, Symbolism and Colors

If you are interested in flower symbolism, you will find much valuable information about the Protea flower in our article. People use flowers as decorative pieces in their gardens, backyards, and their home, but flowers actually carry a more meaningful message within.

Protea flower is extraordinary by its features and hides a specific value. As one of the most unusual flowers, the Protea flower has an interesting background and you will hear some interesting legends and myths about it in our article.

What Is The Meaning of the Protea Flower?

Every flower has the specific meaning according to its historical background and stories of people who were in touch with them. Each of these stories is associated with different meaning a specific flower carrier and preserves for centuries now.

However, even though we like myths and legends, we actually want to know something more about flower meanings so we always have the right species in mind for different occasions.

You certainly don’t want to mislead someone you are gifting a flower too so that be careful and take notes about the main meanings of the Protea flower.

The main meanings of the Protea flower are:

• Courage,
• Diversity,
• Transformation
• Daring.

Protea flower is one of the flowers that stands for courage. If you, or someone you love, is dealing with an obstacle or a life issue, it would be best to find courage in something. Courageous people make the biggest changes in the world, so why wouldn’t you gift the Protea flower to someone who needs a bit of encouragement? This flower has a strong message when it comes to finding the strength to stand for our dreams and goals despite the obstacles on our road.

If you are the type who likes to stand out from the crowd, then the Protea flower is the right flower for you.

However, if you would maybe want to show how special someone is to you, then it is even better to pick the Protea. This unusual flower will catch anyone’s attention, no matter of the circumstances. Protea flower is beautiful and mysterious at the same time, which makes it a perfect gift for someone who is unique and special to your heart. We all should accept the fact this world is full of diversities, but that doesn’t stop you from standing out a bit.

Similar to courage, the Protea flower is also daring. Its daring nature is actually what makes this flower shine so bright and bold that we can’t compare it to any other flower.

Protea flower also means transformation and represents changes in life. If you strive to change something about you or to become a better and different person, you can decorate your living space with the Protea flowers.

It can also be a perfect gift for someone who tends to make a change but needs some additional stimulation. Protea flower will give them that injection of adrenaline and make them take a big step towards changes.

The Etymological Meaning of the Protea Flower

Protea flower is a part of big Proteaceae family and it has many varieties. You wouldn’t believe how much species of the Protea flower exist that each of them comes in the whole spectrum of colors and different shapes and sizes. This flower got its name by the Greek name – Proteus. Proteus was a son of God of the sea, Poseidon. The young guy always wanted to have a possibility to change his appearance so no one can recognize him.

Now you can associate this to the Protea flower’s meaning of transformation. The reason why the Protea got this name lies exactly in the fact that this flower comes in so many varieties, as we are talking about a big family here, so the name Protea seemed more than appropriate.

The Symbolism of the Protea Flower

Protea flower’s symbolism is related to two legends about this flower – South African and Greek. South African legend narrates of a beautiful flower and its interesting and specific petals. The South African saw a crown in the Protea flower’s petals and decided to name the flower after Protea. As we already mentioned above, Proteus, son of God of the Sea, wanted to appear differently and avoid recognition.

However, despite the fact that this plant comes in hundreds of varieties, you can always recognize the Protea flower by its beautiful scent.

Protea Flower – Color and Meaning

The world without colors would be so boring and gray, as colors add so much optimism and brightness in everyday life.

Still, colors also carry great symbolic meaning and transfer our messages to people we send them to. Protea flower comes in white, purple, red, orange, yellow, and green color.

White Protea flower symbolizes integrity, honesty, pure spirit, faith, religion, and innocence. If you want to show someone you trust them completely and care a lot about them, gift them a beautiful white Protea flower.

Purple Protea flower is indeed extraordinary. It stands for royalty, nobility, extravagance, grace, charm, and mystery. This flower might be a perfect gift for someone who likes to stand out from the crowd, so pick the deepest purple flower and sends off a strong message of high appreciation and understanding.

Red Protea flower carries no different symbolic than the other red flowers – love, passion, and desire. If you want to make a surprise for this Valentine’s Day and stay away from stereotypes, red Protea flower would impress your beloved one as a sign of your creativity.

Orange Protea flower is a perfect gift for someone towards whom you feel the warmest emotions, romantic or friendly. This color of the Protea flower symbolizes happiness, joy, cheerfulness, bright days, and friendships.

Orange Protea color also stands out from the rest of the flowers, so it can be a perfect gift for your beloved one who likes a bit unusual gifts.

You maybe thought that yellow only stands for jealousy, but yellow Protea flower actually symbolizes trust, joy, and compassion. If you recently made some new friends and got trust in that person, gift them a bouquet of yellow Protea flowers.

The green is a color of good fortune, prosperity, harmony, and luck. You can gift green Protea flower so anyone towards whom you feel appreciation and love in order to wish them good chances in life and wealth. It would be nice to decorate your home with a few green Protea flowers so that you can attract harmony and prosperity.

Botanical Characteristics of the Protea Flower

Proteaceae family of flowers originates to South Africa and Australia. Protea flowers there grow in shrubs and are evergreen plants with large blossoms. These flowers are the most beautiful species of the Proteaceae family, while Protea-Protea is considered the most famous royal plant. Protea flower is proclaimed to be the national flower of southern Africa. What is more, you can find about 1500 species of the Protea flower. The first person to publish this flower publicly was Carl von Linne in 1771.

As we are talking about an extraordinary flower here, you should know that the Protea flower is not that easy to breed. If you don’t water it regularly, add excessive fertilizer (especially phosphate one), you can destroy the plant. Protea flower grows in various habitats, so you can plant them even in stony and moist meadows, even somewhere along the coast. These flowers tolerate high fluctuations in temperature, going from 0 to 32 ° C. Protea flower can survive under the snow, which is fascinating as we are talking about a tropical plant here.

This flower likes acidic soils with a ph around 8.0. When cultivated, the Protea flower needs a substrate for acidophilic plants. Drain the soil well, but don’t make it dry, so that you prevent water from retention, as the Protea flower is sensitive to diseases of the roots. They are also non-tolerant to fungal infections. Put the seeds in a hot water (around 50 °) for half an hour before planting Protea flowers. After the time expires, spill the seeds on a piece of paper and let them dry.

The best season to plant the Protea flower is in early spring. When we talk about specific time, then it would be optimal to sow it in the time of the biggest differences between day and night temperatures. Protea flower seed like temperature changes, as this improves the germination.

If you are planting the Protea seeds in containers, add about one liter of the substrate. The substrate should contain 2 parts of hummus, natural sand, and one part of perlite, which provides good drainage.

Before the final step, sprinkle the substrate with boiling water so that you prevent any pests and eventual diseases that might endanger the seeds.

Now place the seeds of the Protea flower in the deep soil and water them well. Depending on the species of the Protea flowers, you would have to wait from three weeks to several months for the seeds to germinate. Keep them in a shady place during this time, but as soon as you notice the first leaves coming out, put your Protea flowers in a sunny place, but ensure that the substrate never gets fully dry.

As your plants are in the containers now, after the plant strengthens up a bit, it is about time to plant the Protea flowers in the garden, but avoid too exposed places to sunlight. Dig a half meter holes and fill them with composts. Protea flowers have sensitive roots, so be careful when taking them out of the containers and while putting them in the ground. It would be nice if you could brush the soil and maintain its moisture before planting, providing a place that is not too sunny. You would have to imitate natural area in your garden by planting your Protea flowers in a breathable place. Keep the humidity low, but don’t take away all of it. When watering your Protea flowers, water the root and the depth of the soil, not the leaves or the plant.

Once it gets stronger, you won’t have to pay that much attention to your Protea flowers, as they don’t require a lot of nutrients. When picking fertilizer, go for algae or guano-extract one, while orchids or bromeliad artificial fertilizers are good for the Protea flowers.

During the winter, place the pots in a light, sunny, and well-ventilated place as the Protea flowers are prone to fungi infection through the winter.

Also make sure the temperature doesn’t exceed 15 ° C, as these are perfect conditions for fungi reproduction.

Still, some species of the Protea flowers can be planted outside even during winter, but protect them with agro textile or branches.

Protea Flower – Fun Facts

The most expensive Protea flower is Protea cynaroides which are used for royal arrangements, but it indeed seems very decorative.

The biggest range of the Protea flowers grows in Australia, while South Africa is in the second place.

Conclusion

Protea flower hidden message tells us to be courageous and to never step back in front of difficulties. You are beautiful and special in a way no one else is, so make sure to cherish your own traits, but also show respect for other people.

This beautiful flower is unique in so many ways, that you can never understand it fully. Protea flower has a great power of transformation, so if you would like to be a bit mysterious, go for it.

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