Protea King Arctic Ice

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Common names:	King White
Color :	White
Color Description:	Pure White
Bloom Size:	Large
Bloom Size Details:	Very large. Shipped tight to minimize handling damage, but opens very wide to reveal a big flower indeed.
Lengths available:	50cm, 60cm & 70cm
Vase Life:	Long
Vase Life Details:	Like all proteas, with good care you can expect 2-3 weeks.
Availability:	Out of Africa in late spring early summer.
Scented:	No

Care and Handling

Unpack the flowers immediately.
Cut up to 1/2 inch off the stems and remove leaves that will end up in the water.
Store flowers in a floral cooler or refrigerator between 36-50 F.
Removing a few leaves around the flower head will enhance the flower display.
Use a commercial flower preservative for added longevity.
Check water levels frequently, flowers get very thirsty.
Protea dry well by hanging them upside down in a dark location or just let your arrangement dry naturally.

A family of interesting and unusual long lasting flowers available in a vast array of shapes, colours and sizes.
Widely grown in Californian as well as Australia / South Africa / New Zealand Protea are available virtually year round because of their opposite seasons.
Most varieties of Protea dry very well.
One of the oldest groups of flowering plants, protea have existed for over 300 million years.
Protea are named after the Greek god Proteus , who could change his form at will.

Protea are graded by stem length and bloom size.
Florist quality Protea should be a minimum of 40 to 50 cm with some varieties reaching 100+ cm tall.

Protea should be shipped with clean blooms. Because this is an outdoor crop, there may be blemishes on foliage due to weather conditions. The foliage can be easily stripped, and marking on foliage does not indicate performance issues in the bloom.
Studies have shown that post harvest treatment with sucrose solution can help to avoid blackening of foliage.
Leaves should always be removed from bottom 20 cm of stems.
Smaller florist sized packs of 40 to 50 stems are increasingly popular.