November 1 is All Saints Day, a Christian feast in memory of all saints and martyrs. A very popular product for this feast is the Protea Magnifica, also known as Queen Protea. Especially in Germany and specifically for funeral arrangements, the product is very popular because of its long vase life. Even if the product has dried up, it has a high ornamental value.

All Saints is almost upon us, so this seemed like a good time to put this beautiful African product of Willowgreen Farms in the spotlight of the FloraPodium. That's why this week we bring you the story of the Protea Magnifica, also called 'Barbigera' in Africa. Barbigera comes from the botanical name Protea Barbigera, the former botanical name for the Protea Magnifica. Even after the change, the name Barbigera has stuck in Africa.

In the spotlight
The Protea Magnifica is a heavy robust product with a woolly, hard flower. The longer you look at this flower, the more beautiful it gets! The flowers of the Protea are often enclosed with hairy bracts, which make a great contribution to the ornamental value of this exceptionally beautiful product. The bracts protect the woolly white flowers in the middle.

The product has many nicknames, such as cotton candy and honey pot. Protea is named after the sea god Proteus who could change himself into any shape. Linnaeus therefore gave it it’s name in 1752 because of the large differences in the varieties. Willowgreen Farms is one of the few companies that grow this special product.

Barbigera at All Saints
For a long time the Barbigera was mostly popular for All Saints' Day and was therefore originally harvested between September and November. Nowadays, the product is also very popular for weddings and other occasions and is therefore ordered in other periods. By starting to select the plants in 2000, Willowgreen Farms has been able to extend the season and now the product is available from May to the end of December.

As far as the Willowgreen growers know, there are only two companies around the world that produce Barbigeras commercially. Together with the difficult production process, this makes it an extremely exclusive product. Definitely worth getting acquainted with this beautiful product and including it in your assortment.

The cultivation of the Barbigeras is not without struggles. These plants grow best at an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level, so there is only a limited production area available where the flowers can be grown.

Increased by seed
The first Barbigeras were planted by Willowgreen Farms in 1979 by Professor Daan Strydom. His daughter Elzabe and her husband Nicky later took over the cultivation. The first Barbigeras were planted from seeds, which they took from the remote GrootWinterhoek mountains and the Koue Bokkeveld mountains in the southwestern tip of Africa. Willowgreen has selected the plants for quality and only used the best cuttings for propagation. A Protea grows on a shrub that only starts flowering after 7 years! After that, the plant can be cut every year.

Cold climate
The Barbigera needs a cold climate and grows at 1000 meters above sea level, just below the snow line. As a result, there is only a limited production area where these flowers can grow. The flowers just grow in the open air as large garden shrubs.

Extreme drought
In Africa there is little water available under normal circumstances. Due to the drought of recent years, this shortage was such that there has been no irrigation for three years.

This year it was also extremely dry in Africa, causing the water supply to be severely limited. The production of many products from this area is therefore considerably delayed. The Barbigeras also have shorter stems than normal this year. The estimates are that the peak production will be delayed until early November 2018. An extremely high demand is expected with All Saints this year, all orders will be coming in at the same time, so a shortage of Barbigera this year is to be expected. "We hope it will be completely normal again next year".

FloraPodium, 17 October 2018