A Wild Weekend in Esk: Supercell Storms and Our Resilient Proteas
What a weekend! On Saturday, the 1st of November 2025, Esk was hit by a massive supercell storm — and what a wild ride it was. We ended up copping two hailstorms in one day, on top of another the day before. That’s three hailstorms in just two days!
One long-term local told me it was the biggest storm she’s ever seen here in Esk. Others insisted that Esk doesn’t usually get hail — but from what I’ve found, that’s not entirely true. A 2016 ABC report suggests that hail isn’t as rare here as some might think. I guess we’ll all have to make up our own minds about that!
In the three years we’ve been here, this was our first run of back-to-back hailstorms. And wow, did our poor proteas cop it! We had giant ice-bombs pelting down, knocking our plants around. Thankfully, they’re still standing — tough little things.
Still, we may see some impacts on our 2026 production plan. Proteas typically flower on a two-year cycle, which means the stems that didn’t flower this year should bloom next year. But after the weekend’s chaos, we’ve had to cut off damaged buds and other limbs, so we’ll lose some of those future flowers too. Only time will tell what the real effect will be.
One thing we’ve learned from other farms is not to put all our eggs in one basket. We’re fortunate to have other sources of income, because the proteas — as beautiful as they are — have had a rough few months. Between someone’s cow breaking through the fence for a cheeky snack and this latest supercell dishing out hail the size of golf balls, they’ve had to fight hard to survive!
With steady steps, we’ll keep moving forward as we plan to expand the number of protea plants again in 2026. It’s all part of the journey — learning, adapting, and growing stronger.
The damage varied — some buds, like those on our Little Prince plants, were cleanly snapped off, while other stems were shredded but still hanging on. The following day was spent cleaning everything up and giving the plants a bit of TLC.
We also two stunning Pink King blooms I had planned to pick on Sunday were a little worse for wear. Unfortunately, they were destroyed before I could get to them. That plant won’t flower again next year, since it only had those two stems, so we’ll have to wait until 2027 to see it in full bloom again. Luckily, we have a few more Kings Pinks planted that should (fingers crossed!) reward us with their gorgeous flowers.
This little fella was the hardest hit — left with only four or five leaves. Someone recently said to me, “Nature can be trying at times, but it reminds us we’re not really in control.” And that’s so true. What we can do is our bit to help protect nature, so that maybe it’s a little kinder in return.
For us, that means avoiding poisons, reusing and recycling wherever possible, and planting more trees — not just proteas — while also keeping a close eye on water management. We were especially excited to discover our bore on the weekend! If it turns out to be usable (we’re still testing that out), we’ll continue with our current water management approach since it’s working well (if anyone would like to know how we work our plants in terms of water please reach out), but having a bore will definitely be a welcome safety net for the future.
Here’s hoping for calmer skies, stronger blooms, and a few good lessons learned from Mother Nature herself. 🌿💨🌸