California Heliconia

[Mangosteen]

Had this Heliconia growing near my house for probably over 15 years, finally got a bloom.

 

Label is long gone. Anyone recognize it?

[Umbrae]

how often do you fertilize ?

[metalfan]

It looks too deep red to be Bucky or Iris Bannochie although that could be your lighting. This is Firebird perhaps this is what you have

[Mangosteen]

22 hours ago, metalfan said:

It looks too deep red to be Bucky or Iris Bannochie although that could be your lighting. This is Firebird perhaps this is what you have

I think I'm too cold in the winter ( high 30's F ) for "regular" Heliconia plants like Strictas. I believe I bought it as a Highland mountain variety like Schiedeana.

[Mangosteen]

On 10/7/2018, 4:36:33, Umbrae said:

how often do you fertilize ?

Once a year in the Spring.

[metalfan]

Now that you say that it looks like Schiedeana a little more. The way your pic is taken makes it look a little 'beefier' that a smaller inflo. Its beautiful!

[Umbrae]

What kind of fert? And how much because heliconias are heavier feeders than most folks realize you need high phosphorus for  roots and blooms and thats basically all heliconias are 

Edited October 9, 2018 by Umbrae

[mnorell]

That doesn't look like a stricta. I think you are very right that it is some unusual, possibly high-elevation Heliconia...it doesn't look familiar to me off the top of my head (plus there are so many red-bracted erect types, it makes it rather difficult to I.D. it using just a photo such as this as the flowers themselves are not very distinct for identification purposes). I would post your photo and a couple of others on the Heliconia Society International page on Facebook, including a (true) flower plucked from the bract and photographed separately with good color. Carla Black or some of the other very knowledgeable Heliconia Society stalwarts will be able to I.D. or give you guidance on figuring it out. Congratulations on the bloom. 15 years is a long time to wait but it paid off! So hard to bloom so many Heliconia in SoCal but you did it! The generally warmer winters and slightly warmer, more humid summers of the last few years may have helped to make it happen...or perhaps it was just stubborn and was resisting the onset of puberty.

[Mangosteen]

On 10/9/2018, 7:22:06, mnorell said:

That doesn't look like a stricta. I think you are very right that it is some unusual, possibly high-elevation Heliconia...it doesn't look familiar to me off the top of my head (plus there are so many red-bracted erect types, it makes it rather difficult to I.D. it using just a photo such as this as the flowers themselves are not very distinct for identification purposes). I would post your photo and a couple of others on the Heliconia Society International page on Facebook, including a (true) flower plucked from the bract and photographed separately with good color. Carla Black or some of the other very knowledgeable Heliconia Society stalwarts will be able to I.D. or give you guidance on figuring it out. Congratulations on the bloom. 15 years is a long time to wait but it paid off! So hard to bloom so many Heliconia in SoCal but you did it! The generally warmer winters and slightly warmer, more humid summers of the last few years may have helped to make it happen...or perhaps it was just stubborn and was resisting the onset of puberty.

Thank you for suggesting I contact the Heliconia Society Facebook page. Some one from there got right back to me and said it was Heliconia Tortuosa, a high elevation type from Central America.

[raimeiken]

do heliconias grow through the winter or do they stop growing at a certain temp like bananas do? 

[mnorell]

That's great to know someone from HSI got back to you. It is a great group and it is a society well worth joining if you are interested in heliconias and gingers. I tried to grow H. tortuosa once from a small plant at my garden up in Natchez, Mississippi (zone 9a) about a decade ago and lost it due to cold weather or just general "fading out" from too much shade, too small while suffering through a freeze, etc. Probably the latter as I think that one is pretty cold-hardy at least when established. I never came across another one and put it out of my mind.  Another one I lost that Dan Andersen told me bloomed well in California is Heliconia nutans. You might try to get ahold of one of those as well if you're looking for something that is easy to bloom and has a look different from the ubiquitous H. schiedeana.

And Raimeken...yes, Heliconias may stop growing when the climate exceeds their metabolic comfort-zones. In the high-elevation species that can be when it gets too hot (perhaps you would have that problem in Arizona with some of them) and certainly many of the big lowland species will have trouble with cold, the H. bihai, H. caribaea, most H. stricta and the really fantastic-looking tropical types (e.g., H. vellerigera, 'Barnum and Bailey,' et al.). Even H. rostrata is a tough grow in places with long, cool, wet winters like coastal California. Even if it doesn't freeze they may "reset" and start anew ever spring. The unfortunate result being that you will rarely see any inflorescences because of that habit. I can't say what would happen in the Arizona desert. You certainly may have humidity and general plant-appearance issues. I would suggest you try with an H. latispatha, as they are gluttons for heat and sunlight. With morning sun, noon shade and perhaps some shifting shade in the afternoon you could probably get that one to perform well, at least around Phoenix and Yuma.

[raimeiken]

Great info! Thanks!