I just love flowers! I mean, who doesn’t!? And at the very top of my list of favorites is the stunning Protea, which have recently gained a lot of popularity in the wedding space over this past year. Protea are large, hardy focal flowers that are said to represent diversity and courage. The best thing about them is they’ll arrive on your doorstep, fully bloomed and ready to use when you order them from Fifty Flowers – very minimal prep work. Their cup-shaped blooms packed with unique textures, sit on sturdy stems that feature loads of lush foliage. I think these tropical beauties are a must for any beach or summer wedding!

Each month we’re featuring a specific, popular wedding flower, sharing important tips and information that all DIY brides will find valuable if incorporating said blooms into their events. Whether you’re arranging your own bridal shower flowers or creating your own wedding bouquets, I hope you enjoy the tips and information below.

Fifty Flowers

For those who might not know, FiftyFlowers is an online flower wholesaler who ships gorgeous flowers to your doorstep, straight from their partner farms. Their customer service is outstanding and I know that you’ll have an extraordinary experience with them, no matter if you’re ordering flowers for your entire wedding or just a few bunches for your bridal shower. You can shop their website just like you would a flower mart, even scheduling your delivery time with just a few clicks – it’s awesome. I absolutely love that at any time, no matter what shoot or event I need flowers for, I can visit their site, shop and the flowers magically arrive at my door. Basically, they are the Nordstrom of online flower sales!

Flower Availability:

Most Protea are available during spring and summer months, but certain specific varieties have limited availabilities. Since this is a tropical bloom, it’s not going to be easy to get during the winter. Visit the Protea page on FiftyFlowers.com to find the exact availability for your favorite variety!

In this post, I’m featuring the Protea Variety Pack along with the Austrailian Greens Combo Pack.

Farm To Vase Prep:

Your bulk Proteas will arrive in a large box like shown below, ready to be put in water. They will look a little sleepy and thirsty which is totally normal.

Recommended Delivery Date: 3 days before your event.

Rehydration Steps:

• Fill vases/containers with at least 6 inches of fresh, cool water.
• Add floral food to prevent bacteria from forming in the water and to give added nutrients to the Protea. If you do not have flower food, it can be purchased from any local florist.
• Cut the bottom of stems diagonally approximately an inch from bottom under running water with sharp scissors or a knife. This will create a fresh surface to absorb water.
• Remove any leaves that will fall below the water line. If you don’t remove the leaves they can cause extra bacteria to grow that can harm the blooms
• Immediately after cutting, place each stem in the prepared water to rehydrate for at least 4 hours, after that they are ready to be used
• Change the water every day to keep them as fresh as possible!
• Simply pull the leaves off to clean the stems, or don’t. Leaving the leaves attached is totally up to you!
• When ready to arrange, give each stem a fresh diagonal cut

Arranging Tips:

• Protea are an extremely hearty flower that can look fabulous out of water for hours, which makes them a terrific choice for bouquets!
• Each flower has a minimum vase life of 6 days, which is awesome
• There is only 1 flower per stem and the size will span from 4″ – 6″
• Mini-Protea are a great choice for boutonnieres
• The stems on these flowers are more like branches so you’ll need a heavy duty pruner like these PowerGrip2 Pruning Shears from Fiskars to make clean, proper cuts.

Pairs Well With:

Protea flowers are great for tropical, boho, or modern themed weddings and work fabulously as a stand alone flowers because they’re such show-stoppers. Mixing them with softer blooms like roses, ranunculus and anemones will provide a nice contrast to its bold textures, and hypericum berries would be another terrific choice. Creating a bouquet full of only Protea is a terrific idea, just add a few soft green elements and wrap with a ribbon. These gorgeous blooms are like the bow on top of a package! Big, bold and beautiful!

Post Sponsored By:

FiftyFlowers is the customer-centric, online destination for wholesale wedding flowers, shipped fresh from the farm straight to your door! Inspired by the DIY bride, we offer an extensive selection of fresh flowers, greenery, and floral accessories because we believe anyone can create their own wedding flowers.

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