Under Cover with Bob Flowerdew

July 2010 - Strelitzia, the Bird of Paradise plant

Here’s a really lovely conservatory plant with a bit of a drawback. For once it’s not a poor name, though it’s origin is actually obscure enough to win a Mastermind contest: Strelitzia reginae is named after the 1761 marriage of George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Similar in many ways and closely resembling the banana family this is a small genus of semi shrubby natives of southern Africa. Originally found as bushy clumps in coastal districts they have now been spread world wide for commercial floristry in almost every frost free country and are popular in warm conservatories for their ease of culture and flamboyant flowers. In fact this is surprisingly a hardy plant, even if only just so and if dryish and well established can endure very short cold spells of as much as -2°C, as are occasionally found during S. African winters. Although happiest in the ground where it can reach two metres high and half as much across it is really quite easy to grow in a container under cover where it usually reaches only half to a third that size or less. The Bird of Paradise needs a rich moist soil, preferably with plenty of leaf mould and other than being kept well watered in summer with plenty of liquid feed and frost free in winter it needs little special attention. Indeed that is fortunate for I still have not mentioned it’s only drawback; it is staggeringly slow to bloom, and as it is grown for the flowers this is serious. Now you can buy a large older plant and gain advantage, even getting one already in bloom but from seed and small plants I’ve found six or seven year waits are to be expected before the first flower appears- honest. Well worth it though as once they start to come they will continue and may bloom in autumn, winter and spring. The remarkably bird like blooms are orange and blue emerging from a green and red head like ‘pod’. And the trick is as each bloom starts to fade you simply pull the next one from out of the pod. Thus their great value in flower arranging as they last so well. But if you ever travel to S Africa, or visit a botanic garden with a large conservatory you may get to see an interesting, less glitzy, relative S. nicolai, this has the same form of flowers but in sophisticated white and pale blue, which unfortunately, so we really can’t grow them, come on the 10metre high ‘banana’ like trees.

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Bob Flowerdew June 2010

Jun 25, 2010

So many of our most interesting and useful tender crops and flowers are closely related and in the Solanum family. All the daturas and petunias, brunfelsias and... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - May 2010

Jun 4, 2010

This is a large genus of dozens of species carrying some of the most beautiful flowers of the world. (These were named after Christ’s Passion as priests tried... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - April 2010

May 12, 2010

Now I must admit these are not the most attractive nor compact of plants however the Physalis family are exceptionally valuable subjects for growing under cover.... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - March 2010

Mar 31, 2010

Now this is one of the finest conservatory and warm greenhouse plants you can grow. It is not quite, but almost, hardy in some varieties. Well it will survive a... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - February 2010

Mar 5, 2010

Angels trumpets, or Angel Strumpets as someone punned, are spectacular, and easy. Once known as Datura now some are reclassified as Brugmansia which is not appealing... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - January 2010

Feb 22, 2010

I’ll bet this is not a plant you would ever previously thought I’d be likely to recommend. However wait, yes petunias can be a bit cheap and nasty,... Read More...

Bob Flowerdew - December 2009

Jan 11, 2010