STRELITZIA

[kata]

I decided -1 over two nights was enough for my baby Bird of Paradise,

I brought it back in yesterday after spraying it for any lurking flies then did the tiny stones on top.

It had carried on growing even in that cold...amazing!

[Arlon Tishmarsh]

It had carried on growing even in that cold...amazing!

Mine as well K. I gave it a trim a while back and its sending out quite a few new spears .....and flowering

[The Codfather]

mine just will not grow.....

[kata]

Sounds good Arlon,

Show us the flower when it happens please.

Coddy, I just leave mine on the windowsill, or did at first. I never have fed it, its still in a small pot. Remember they like to be in the pot tight. I murdered the last one so I knew a second chance was going to be different...its gone like a dream this time.

I put it out in the summer and then yesterday brought it in. The leaves are a tad discoloured but thats all. One thing to remember Coddy, the sun is much like a magi glass with sun on it and can kill/burn a young Bird of Paradise.

I wait till the sun has moved from the window. The sun outside will be fanned by the breeze outdoors so out there it would be ok in sun, keep an eye on watering though in both situs.

I also just spray water on mine due to its size...and only till its completely dry.

[Arlon Tishmarsh]

Sounds good Arlon,

Show us the flower when it happens please.

Here ya go Kata,
this was a massive plant but neglectful previous owners kept it in a fairly dark room. As a result the spears / leaves were searching for light. It had even grown horizontally with a span of over 10ft

A drastic trim back to new emerging spears should and is doing the trick at the mo and the new growth should be upright. I have it tucked up against an outside wall at the mo but will bring it in for the next few nights if needed.......

[kata]

Good grief Arlon,

That must be an old plant, the thickness of the leaf stalks are awesome. Mine is'nt even a year old yet.

Thanks for sharing its beautiful!

[GREVILLE]

I've kept both S. Alba and nicolai as large potted specimens for a few years but lost them in the frost-free greenhouse. Before then I had overwintered them in the warmth of my local school. As they got larger and became battered by Autumn gales I deemed them not fit for display at the school so they went into the greenhouse and the rest is history - as were they

My S. reginae was grown from seed fifteen years ago and this has had no problem overwintering dry in the frost-free house, just given a little water once a month. It's only been potted on a few times and currently has stayed for the last four years in a twelve inch tub. It first flowered after five years and has done twice since, carryng three blooms in 2010 but none since.

I nearly lost it in the summer of year seven, however, when the water tray I stood it in was too deep and standing with a mass of other plants in a crowded mixed display, I didn't see my bird-of-paradise slowly drowning in stagnant water. Two of the three crowns died and the one surviving crown had just enough surviving roots to start again.

Lesson learnt, this stands on a shallow plate for the summer and only given a normal strength liquid feed once or twice a month, May to September.

[kata]

hard luck there Greville,

I don't think they like too much water, not with feet in it.