Heliconia bihai brought inside 1st Nov

User avatar
Dave Brown
Site Admin
Posts: 19742
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:17 am
Location: Chalk, (Thames Estuary) Kent, England 51.5N 0.3E
Contact:

Heliconia bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Dave Brown »

The Heliconia bihai has stayed in the consevatory all year until this year, but it struggles and sufferes badly from Red Spider Mite in the dry heat. This year I decided to try it planted out. I thought these liked quite warm temps but it has done resonably well in shady part of the new bed planted up in June. It has not been fed at all, as once planted right in a back corner, it was a pain to get to :roll:

When it came to digging it out at the wekend it had numerous roots in all directions about an inch below the surface. These went out for several feet so had to be cut off.

I am pleased with it's growth over summer. and although a bit wind scarred is generally in better condition than when baked in the conservatory. It has grown 3 new stems and is now about 8 feet tall from about 3.5ft in June. :wink:

What do you rekon of my chances of getting it to flower :?:
Attachments
011109 Heliconia bihai 01.jpg
011109 Heliconia bihai 02.jpg
011109 Heliconia bihai 03.jpg
Best regards
Dave
icon_thumright
_________________________________________________
Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
bobbyd44

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by bobbyd44 »

nice looking plant dave i have been tempted to buy some seed of Heliconia schiedeana
described as hardy it will die down inthe frost and re appear in the spring..is this worth a go??
Nathan

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Nathan »

I managed to get hold of a Heliconia psittacorum in the spring & planted it out too, it has flowered all summer (it's a dwarf flowering variety) infact it has only just stopped flowering. I'm going to take a risk & leave it outside during winter as it's reportedly quite cold hardy & can grow outside in northern California & Melbourne, so can take light frost... I'll let you know if that's true next spring... :lol:
User avatar
Dave Brown
Site Admin
Posts: 19742
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:17 am
Location: Chalk, (Thames Estuary) Kent, England 51.5N 0.3E
Contact:

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Dave Brown »

It will be interesting to know if it comes back to flowering size from being cut to ground level Nathan :wink:
Best regards
Dave
icon_thumright
_________________________________________________
Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
Nathan

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Nathan »

Dave Brown wrote:It will be interesting to know if it comes back to flowering size from being cut to ground level Nathan :wink:
It should do Dave (if it survives) as it's only around 18 inches tall! :lol:
User avatar
DiCasS
Posts: 3131
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:59 pm
Location: Hereford

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by DiCasS »

Dave how do you look after these during Winter. Will you put it back in your conservatory and let it carry on growing or will it have a dormant period somewhere cooler (can they do this). Great growth this year and wouldn't it be great if it rewarded you with flowers next year. Hope it does :D

Di
I'm at an age where my back goes out more than I do.
Supporter of the N.A.S.
User avatar
Dave Brown
Site Admin
Posts: 19742
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:17 am
Location: Chalk, (Thames Estuary) Kent, England 51.5N 0.3E
Contact:

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Dave Brown »

My impression is they are quite tough, although they are not fast growing like Canna or Ginger, so I would not let this one get frosted to the ground. Although I may divide it in spring and give a piece a go in the garden next year :wink:

Nathan's one sounds different in that it is a small one that may get to flowering size from ground level every year.
Best regards
Dave
icon_thumright
_________________________________________________
Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
Jo A P

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Jo A P »

I didn't realise they grew such big leaves. I often see Heliconias at the market or GC here, usually with flowers, but the leaves are much smaller or perhaps they're just different varieties.
I take it they don't like full sun, just heat.
Alexander

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Alexander »

How many coldtolerant Heliconias are there by the way? Those wich can overwinter arround 10 degrees during daytime and arround 2 during the night, but not warmer. Most need more heat wich is a propblem financily when heating a greenhouse.

Alexander
User avatar
redsquirrel
Posts: 12169
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:35 pm
Location: bristol
Contact:

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by redsquirrel »

im learning so much lately.if you hadnt named it dave,i would have thought'just another nana' and not read on. looks like something else to look out for next year. icon_thumleft icon_thumleft
mars ROVER broken down. headgasket faillure
User avatar
Dave Brown
Site Admin
Posts: 19742
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:17 am
Location: Chalk, (Thames Estuary) Kent, England 51.5N 0.3E
Contact:

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Dave Brown »

I just hope it flowers Darren icon_thumright I'm just learning about these plants buton the web it says they are root hardy to zone 8. Which should mean in a warm sunny spot it may be suitable for outside growing. :wink:

Has anyone got these growing outside :?:
Best regards
Dave
icon_thumright
_________________________________________________
Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
User avatar
Mick C
Posts: 1364
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:09 pm
Location: Sheffield, UK

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Mick C »

bobbyd44 wrote:nice looking plant dave i have been tempted to buy some seed of Heliconia schiedeana
described as hardy it will die down inthe frost and re appear in the spring..is this worth a go??
I had thought about giving this a try a while ago Bobby. From reading the experiences of a few people on the forums at the time, I came to the conclusion that schiedeana could possibly survive in warmer areas, but even then would only flower indoors if at all.

I gave up on the idea so can't offer any advice from personal experience.
bobbyd44

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by bobbyd44 »

cheers mick seeds seem pretty cheap so worth a try!!
User avatar
Mick C
Posts: 1364
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:09 pm
Location: Sheffield, UK

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by Mick C »

Where are you getting them from Bobby?
bobbyd44

Re: Helicania bihai brought inside 1st Nov

Post by bobbyd44 »

http://seedrack.com/05.html
goin to do a large order for xmas!! keep me quiet forthe first few months of the year!! according to the mrs!!
Post Reply