In 1993 it was estimated that the total number of mature plants in the wild was less than a thousand individuals, although the numbers were thought to be stable, with recruitment of new seedlings being equal to those which die during fires. In the period from 1999 to 2001 some 10% of the total population died, possibly due to drought. In 2019 the total numbers of the population of this species were thought to be decreasing for unknown reasons. It is possible that the decline observed over the last thirty or so years may be related to the age of the veld, i.e. the fire regime, although that is speculation. As a serotinous 're-seeder', a species which has adapted to periodic wildfires which destroy the plants by surviving as fire-proof seeds which can then take advantage of the newly cleared and fertilised area to sprout, P. pruinosa may be sensitive to an increased fire frequency in the Swartberg mountains.