Won this on ebay - Strelitzia nicolai -

[Steph]

I have some S juncea seed from JungleSeeds to try. I figured I'd sow it in the heated prop in about January.

If you have space in the propagator I'd just get stuck in and get on with it. Supposed to be slow to germinate.
Do you have the Kirstenbosch Smoke Papers to get the seeds started?

I am useless with seed, I try to restrain myself from buying them 'cos my success rate is so low.

edit: added the missing ] to start and the missing [/quote] to finish for the quote to work. dave

[Steph]

Unfortunately it's pressing hard against my conservatory roof now. The prob is that it has never pupped, so just gets taller and taller. I am thinking of hacking it back to try and promote new shoots. Any thoughts?

ps, it lives in the conservatory all year

Two points the first being you need exposure to weather & seasons to get flowers... the poor plant is probably gagging to flower, put it outside as soon as you can, I mean March or April and leave it out till you really have to bring it in.
Give it some concentrated feed to get it going and then keep it on the dry side, don't want it getting any taller....

Second point is, the new leaf grows out of the previous new one, so if you hack the plant down I'd expect it to die. The pups may well grow on. I haven't tried it.

[Dave Brown]

Steph, we are talking about S.nicolai White or Black Bird of Paradise not reginea. It is much taller before flowering. maybe 10 feet or so. Nornally only botanical gardens get it to flower in UK.

[Steph]

Steph, we are talking about S.nicolai White or Black Bird of Paradise not reginea. It is much taller before flowering. maybe 10 feet or so.

No Strelli is going to flower that lives in a domestic conservatory all year.
I (stupidly) kept my Regina inside for the first few years, it was only when I put it outside did the situation change.
Since I got the Nicolai, I have kept it out for as much of the year as possible but I am trying to keep it quite short & stunted, successfully so far. I really don't want a giant on my hands, I can only accommodate overwintering 13' height.... The leaves are as wide & long as one would expect but on much shorter stems.

[Dave Brown]

I think you are going to struggle with nicolai keeping it small. reginea doesn't grow a stem or trunk but nicolai does.

Here is one of them at Kew

Here is one at Wisley

Flowers at Wisley

[Dave Brown]

I managed to get it in for the winter with the leaves pressed hard against the roof. It did suffer some wind damage before it came in. In this good weather it has gone outside again, and the new leaf has grown about a foot in the last 2 weeks. I have to try and divide it this year. Lucien I believe you had a go at dividing one, was that successful?

[lucienc]

I managed to get it in for the winter with the leaves pressed hard against the roof. It did suffer some wind damage before it came in. In this good weather it has gone outside again, and the new leaf has grown about a foot in the last 2 weeks. I have to try and divide it this year. Lucien I believe you had a go at dividing one, was that successful?

Need to get mine outside, was going to be today but spent the day cleaning one of the greenhouses. We're going to pot them up this year, and then I'm going to wire the pots onto the deck. You will have to watch that your's doesn't blow over Dave, mine did loads until I secured them to the willow. The willow has now gone, so I need to come up with a better solution.

We had a poorly one that had pups. Took them off last spring and gave them out. I was only confident about one (think it went to AndyC but not sure), the other went to Gary (I wasn't confident about Gary's one as it didn't get enough corm). It was a b*gg*r to get the pups off. They are very heavy plants, and very very very tight root system. To get the pup off you need to hack away a lot of root to even get close, it was during the hacking that Gary's pup snapped off.

We have lots more pups this year, but Laura thinks they are different, so hoping for flowers. Only time will tell.

Wind damage is something that you will get now being that tall. Just go with it and learn to love the stripped leaf effect, they still work as effectively.

Will try and get some pics when ours go out.

Lucien

[GARYnNAT]

(I wasn't confident about Gary's one as it didn't get enough corm).

with good reason...... it never made it unfortunatly

Gary

[Steph]

People laugh at me for trying to grow a Nicolai stunted, but my stalks are a lot shorter than those, the leaves are wider and as my consevatory has only 13' height, I do wonder whose plant will survive the longest?
I have to prevent my husband from repotting it as well...

[Libby]

This has been a very interesting thread. Thank you.

I have a Mandelas Gold and another one which of course I have lost the label too. They have both overwintered in the greenhouse (heated max 5c) and have really grown.

[GanEden]

They are pretty common on eBay Australia and I'm sure the sellers will send to the uk.

[Jo A P]

What great pics of plants & gardens.
Can I ask what position you grow these plants in? Will they burn in full sun? I have the reginae & keep it in the house through the winter & in half shade for the rest of the year. Wrong by the sounds of it!

[Dave Brown]

Jo, they can take full sun in the Canary Islands, so overhead sun in not a problem, but if yours has grown in shady conditions I would gradually accustom it to sunlight. You wouldn'd want to fry the leaves. What winter temps do you get . My reginea has just spent the coldest winter for 20 years, outside, and it has some damage from the -5.6C we had, but only the leaves that were totally exposed. Those protected by the eaves are fine. -1 or-2C will not be a problem, so you may be able to leave it out.

[Jo A P]

Thanks Dave, I'll slowly move it into a sunnier position then. We don't get prolonged frost in winter but it only needs a few hours to see some things off (my first aloe vera went mushy after a few hours of cold). This winter has been very wet & I've lost some cactii that usually stay out all year round due to wet rather than cold. We aren't supposed to go below -5 but we're on the side of a valley & quite open. I know people leave them out further south than me but I'll mollycoddle mine until it's bigger rather than lose it!

[Libby]

see, now look what you made me do!!!!!

I went and bought one