bird of paradise

just wondering if anyone of you keep this plant. hopefully u guys can share your experiences with me as not many ppl keep this plant which is a member of the banana family.

i bought mine three years ago and it was hardly a foot tall. got it from cactus valley, cameron highlands. now, from one plant, it has become 5 through rhizome division. however, it has never flowered or grew higher than two feet in height. compared to the bird of paradise my relatives have in australia, theirs bloom so well and can reach up to five feet (leaf size).

any experiences?

this is what it looks like:-

http://51chevy.files.wordpress.com/2...ecovered34.jpg

[atmccmn]

It doesn't flower well in our lowland climate. It need cold nights (less than 20 deg Cel) to induce flowering. Will live and thrive but no flower. Sorry!

[harris]

yep, sometimes the unethical seller at CH won't tell you about this...

malowie,
you might wanna try heliconia rostrata. it will live at lowland, grow pretty high up to 1.5m and the flower will last for about 6 weeks...

[strath76]

Sorry to rub salt into the wounds but I have one and it is flowering at the moment. One thing that may be of interest is that they thrive on neglect. If you care for them too well, i.e. fertilise alot, they will not flower here either. You need to treat them mean to get the best flower show.

Many plants will flower when stressed as a survival mechanism. You may be able to ellicit some flowers using some method to stress the plant.

Originally Posted by strath76

Sorry to rub salt into the wounds but I have one and it is flowering at the moment. One thing that may be of interest is that they thrive on neglect. If you care for them too well, i.e. fertilise alot, they will not flower here either. You need to treat them mean to get the best flower show.

Many plants will flower when stressed as a survival mechanism. You may be able to ellicit some flowers using some method to stress the plant.

ouch! haha


yeah the last time i went to syd my cousins one was thriving. and she didnt put much manure on it. post a pic!

[strath76]

Here are a couple fo pic's of my strelitzia. It is only a small plant that I got about 6 months ago.

[edwardyeeks]

My mom wants to grow these plants.......they symbolize the heavenly birds that fly in the Gardens Of Heaven in our Chinese mythology.....

It does look like a bird

Cheers