I have two spots in my garden where I would like to plant a protea but one has recently died in the same location. the dead protea was only planted less than 12 months ago so not established.
That depends on what it died from. If you suspect that it died from disease, then your new plant will likely suffer the same fate. Choosing something, unrelated, will mitigate this. Alternatively, treating the soil or solarizing would be a good idea to clean the area.