Heliconia Thread

[Merlyn]

On 7/27/2021 at 4:23 PM, Dartolution said:

@Merlyn 2-4 months from Rhizome!?!?!?! what are you feeding them??? Mine have always taken the majority of the growing season! I need to know your secret!

You're probably spot on with the hybrid estimate of Tropic. Im honestly not entirely sure. 

Sassy seems more resilient than say - choconiana for instance. I would not consider them "cold hardy" just rather slightly more resistant to root rot from what I've seen, and mine bloomed indoors last year. 

If I had the room I would get some of the bahai and caribaea cultivars. 

Hah!  I mean just the Psittacorum types.  I ripped (literally grabbed by the rhizome and yanked them out) a whole bunch of Lady Di out of the ground in early May and just stuck them in the dirt in a new raised bed in the front yard.  They get full sun and have a dripline sprayer-on-a-stick to cover the whole area each morning.  Many of them were blooming in June, and most of them are blooming now:

The perimeter blocks are 2 high all the way around.  I'm hoping that this will deter the rhizomes from invading the grass and the bed to the left.  One high blocks were mostly useless against Psittacorum... 

[Dartolution]

26 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

Hah!  I mean just the Psittacorum types.  I ripped (literally grabbed by the rhizome and yanked them out) a whole bunch of Lady Di out of the ground in early May and just stuck them in the dirt in a new raised bed in the front yard.  They get full sun and have a dripline sprayer-on-a-stick to cover the whole area each morning.  Many of them were blooming in June, and most of them are blooming now:

The perimeter blocks are 2 high all the way around.  I'm hoping that this will deter the rhizomes from invading the grass and the bed to the left.  One high blocks were mostly useless against Psittacorum... 

 

@Merlyn when you say grabbed them and ripped them out, did they have foliage on them, or did you cut them down to a bare rhizome? Maybe thats the difference. Usually I get bare rhizomes and it takes a year to get them to flower from nothing at all. 

 

Those look great and I would think they wouldn't go that deep. The rhizomes stay more toward the surface, probably right under the mulch as they grow. 

I've got several lady di shoots some are only 6 inches, some are over a foot now, so Im expecting to see them bloom soon hopefully. 

 

[Tropicdoc]

Oriole orange…. Took a hurricane to get it to bloom!

[Dartolution]

Some fun Summer things - 

Lady di psittacorum in bloom, as well as Carmasita, and a couple of new divisions: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dartolution]

Updates on Carmasita. 
This has been a vigorous heliconia, and floriferous as well. 

The blooms are quite large and change from yellow/orange to a vibrant red and yellow upon maturity. 

[Merlyn]

I just received a new Heliconia that I've wanted to try for a while.  I bought one last summer but then forgot it outside in the nursery area during my ~27F freeze...and it defoliated and then rotted and then died.  So here's my new variegated "Lady Di" also known as "Candy Cane."

[Dartolution]

@Merlyn While I don't have the variegated form of lady di (and do want it) I do have regular lady di, and it is the most reliable psittacorum I have. Even in the pot it gets over 5ft. A winner for sure! IF the variegated form is as vigorous as regular lady di you're in for a treat!

[miamicuse]

Bought a lady Di variegated recently.  Can it go into FULL Florida sun or better give it a bit of shade?

[Merlyn]

@miamicuse the regular Lady Di loves full sun here, and doesn't seem to suffer much during our May and October yearly droughts.  I'm going to try mine in the same full sun bed with the regular Di, as soon as it roots in and starts growing again.  I actually bought mine because you posted that photo last week.  It reminded me that I wanted one and accidentally killed mine last year... 

[miamicuse]

3 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@miamicuse the regular Lady Di loves full sun here, and doesn't seem to suffer much during our May and October yearly droughts.  I'm going to try mine in the same full sun bed with the regular Di, as soon as it roots in and starts growing again.  I actually bought mine because you posted that photo last week.  It reminded me that I wanted one and accidentally killed mine last year... 

I think I will plant them in full sun, but I saw the other post you made about how they spread quickly so I may need a way to contain them like a raised bed or a spot between house and brick walkway.

[Tropicdoc]

I used to have carmasita in the ground and it bloomed in 9b! Biggest problem was it ran like crazy sending new shoots a foot from the last ones.

 

[Dartolution]

1 hour ago, Tropicdoc said:

I used to have carmasita in the ground and it bloomed in 9b! Biggest problem was it ran like crazy sending new shoots a foot from the last ones.

 

@Tropicdoc thats surprising to hear! (the running part) since mine has seemed to be more of a clumper than a runner. Maybe because its in a pot. 

 

[Dartolution]

A few end of season shots -

Choconiana blooming (FINALLY) and Carmasita of course. Lady di and Hirsuta 'peru' are also blooming. 

I have multiple psittacorum starts for next year going, a Heliconia bihai 'aurea', and Heliconia "Brazilian firefly" for next year. 

Is anyone else growing Heliconia in pots? If so, what are you using for soil?
Over the last 3 years I have experimented with many mixes with varying degrees of success. I came across an article this year online that suggested the use of Pine bark fines at a 2-1 ratio to potting mix and decided to give that a go with the addition of Espoma Plant tone, and Bone meal - after mixing and planting watering it in with molasses and seaweed to jumpstart soil biology. 

This has been the best mix I have used to date - providing both water retention and aeration at the root level. They have responded extremely well in this mix. 

 

[Dartolution]

An example of this can be seen below. 

I up-potted Carmasita in very late August/early September. Very healthy vigorous root system:

 

[Merlyn]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:14 AM, Dartolution said:

@Tropicdoc thats surprising to hear! (the running part) since mine has seemed to be more of a clumper than a runner. Maybe because its in a pot.

My Latispatha in the ground is a vigorous clumper, and my Psittacorum are vigorous runners.  So I suppose the hybrid could be a mix of both.  Psittacorum "Lady Di" have been putting out runners 2-6 feet long.  I did have one shoot that escaped my 2-high block wall retainment method, but only 1 runner in 2 years is pretty good.  Latispatha tries to escape by simply pushing the blocks out of the way... 

I've had a few Heliconia in pots, the only issue I had was with root/rhizome rot with too much water in the winter.  How much (if any) do you water yours over the winter?  Or do you just store them dry in the garage?

[Dartolution]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

My Latispatha in the ground is a vigorous clumper, and my Psittacorum are vigorous runners.  So I suppose the hybrid could be a mix of both.  Psittacorum "Lady Di" have been putting out runners 2-6 feet long.  I did have one shoot that escaped my 2-high block wall retainment method, but only 1 runner in 2 years is pretty good.  Latispatha tries to escape by simply pushing the blocks out of the way... 

I've had a few Heliconia in pots, the only issue I had was with root/rhizome rot with too much water in the winter.  How much (if any) do you water yours over the winter?  Or do you just store them dry in the garage?

Quite possible @Merlyn! Interesting to hear the difference between rhizome growth patterns. 

All the heliconia get moved into a south facing bedroom during cold snaps with overhead grow lights, and humidifiers set at 60% with oscillating fan movement. It's a whole process!

I doubt any of them would do well in a cold garage over winter, or even a cold frame. 

In the house they go into a slowed state of growth (lacking a true dormancy) but decline slowly over the course of the winter. 

I water when the soil becomes quite dry and they show signs of thirst. Before I was watering on a schedule - I learned quite quickly you cannot do that indoors. Sometimes that may be one time a week, sometimes it may be once in 2 weeks, sometimes every 5 days... It entirely depends on the pot, and whether or not I need to run the heat. 

 

We are about to have an upcoming cold front move through this week, but highs return to the upper 70s by the weekend and lows in the upper 50's. 

They will move back outside for the duration of nice weather. 

I try to keep them outside as MUCH as possible in winter - moving them back indoors ONLY when night time temperatures drop below 45. This seems to make all the difference. 

 

[realarch]

H. aemygdiana possibly? Such vibrant keel color. 

Tim

[realarch]

Not a whole lot blooming in the garden, but there are a few here and there adding a bit of color. 

Tim 

Sexy pink

 

[realarch]

H. stricta I believe, not sure of the cultivar. Las Cruces maybe?

Tim

[realarch]

And a nifty dwarf, H. stricta Dwarf Jamaican.

Tim

[realarch]

This helicon is nice for a cut flower for the house. 

H. pendula  Red Waxy.

Tim

[mnorell]

8 hours ago, realarch said:

H. stricta I believe, not sure of the cultivar. Las Cruces maybe?

Tim

I'm pretty sure that's an H. orthotricha cultivar. Notice how fuzzy the bracts and pseudostem/petiole are? That's something that sets it apart from H. stricta (with which it is very closely related). A beauty!

[realarch]

Thanks Michael! 

Tim

[Dartolution]

A few winter treats. 

Psittacorums, and hirsuta are still blooming plenty indoors below a grow light; offering a nice reprieve from the shortened cool days of winter. 

 

 

Who else has a few in bloom?
 

 

 

[miamicuse]

Went down to about 48 Christmas weekend and now my Lady Di is looking absolutely miserable.

Edited January 4, 2023 by miamicuse

[Merlyn]

@miamicuse same here, I had a total of 22 hours under 32F that weekend.  My two pots of variegated Lady Di were in the garage the first three nights, but were out in the nursery area when it got down to ~34F.  They are pretty toasty right now.  I've read that you should keep heliconia relatively dry over the winter, so I'm moving them out away from my nursery area sprinklers.

[mnorell]

Heliconia psittacorum ('Lady Di' or otherwise) are really unhappy with any major chill (anything repeatedly in the 40-45F range or below) and are not good choices for Orlando, as Eric Schmidt, @Eric in Orlando, has documented elsewhere on this forum. They are great, of course, as either disposable or plunged annuals (the latter really best if you can greenhouse them in winter). For long-term use it is a much better idea to plant Heliconia hirsuta, which gives a similar effect, also available in a fairly wide selection of cultivars/colors...I grew that one in Natchez, Mississippi and it came back every year (except with lengthy hard freezes below about 20F), and it, like H. psittacorum, blooms on first-year stems. It really is a great plant and I still scratch my head why it isn't sold in large quantities for landscape use as a perennial in Central Florida through to the warmer Gulf and Southeastern climates.

[Merlyn]

@mnorellI'll have to check out hirsuta.  A couple of years ago I had the regular orange psittacorum and "Lady Di" planted in the same bed up front.  Both got completely torched to the ground at freezing.  The orange types all died but the "Lady Di" resprouted.  They've come back every year now, with lows down to about 26F.  I'm hoping the variegated form is just as hardy. 

I think the only downside of Hirsuta is that it grows to about 6' tall.  For my front bed that would be too tall, where the Psittacorum at 2-3' tall is just about perfect.  I've also had consistent regrowth with the Gyro types.  They also grow to about 6' tall and flower nonstop all summer.

[mnorell]

As I remember the hirsuta I grew (‘Costa Flores’) was typically about 2-3’ in height, in full sun. They can get higher in shadier conditions, but so can psittacorum. In fact they detest heavy shade and can die out under really dense shade. Another bonus of this species is its zingiberoid habit, which is unusual in the genus and nice for a change of pace. It also opens new leaves quickly in succession, which is great in spring while you wait on other plants to build an attractive mass of foliage after winter damage or dieback. The musoid and cannoid  types of heliconia tend to make you wait a long time between each new leaf, which can be very frustrating for those of us who are very impatient types!

[Dartolution]

9 hours ago, Merlyn said:

@miamicuse same here, I had a total of 22 hours under 32F that weekend.  My two pots of variegated Lady Di were in the garage the first three nights, but were out in the nursery area when it got down to ~34F.  They are pretty toasty right now.  I've read that you should keep heliconia relatively dry over the winter, so I'm moving them out away from my nursery area sprinklers.

@Merlyn I keep mine indoors and allow to dry almost completely before watering again to simulate the dry season. Seems like some varieties take better to that than others (depending on their natural range). Psittacorums are always the worst along with Rostrata for me to overwinter indoors. They will root rot at the drop of a hat, and go yellow so fast you won't know what hit them. Pains - but worth it. Lingulata has been a complete PITA since acquiring one, and rots easily as well. 

I just took a division from the one I am attempting to overwinter again, and decided to experiment and pot it up in aroid mix to see if it prefers that. 

 

[miamicuse]

I am in south Florida and I was not able to take that Lady Di inside during the chilling Christmas weekend due to being out of town to visit family.  That Lady Di and a couple of my crotons were damaged, but some of my orchids sent out spikes.

What is the best thing to do with the Lady Di now, should I cut the stems and leave the rest in the pot and water it a little bit, or leave it alone until spring?

[Merlyn]

@miamicusethe last three winters I've just let the stems all die back and turned off the sprinkler for the area.  I weed whack the 6' x 15' bed of them in the spring, and they've been resprouting around March.  I'm not sure what to do with the ones in the pots, but I pulled both of them out of the sprinker area and put them in a dry part-shade spot for now per @Dartolution's recommendation.

@mnorellgotcha, I will have to find some and try them in full sun.  My Gyros in full sun are about 6', I have the generic orange and red-yellow types and they grow pretty much the same.

[Dartolution]

Finally found a mexican gold latispatha! 

Getting this one going in a pot for this year, and may transplant into the yard next spring. 

[Dartolution]

Its that time of year again! 

 

[MikeB]

I was very happy to see blooms on my Heliconia latispatha 'orange gyro' after a complete meltdown last winter. It took 25 degrees and had flowers in 6 months.

[Merlyn]

@MikeB same here!  The "gyro" types and Psitticorum "Lady Di" are the only ones in my yard that consistently roar back from cold fronts in the upper 20s. 

[Dartolution]

Is anyone growing heliconia "tropics" or "Tropic fleur" I have some in the landscape as an experiment this year, as well as some in pots for the last 3 years and while it is a VERY vigorous Heliconia it won't bloom. 

[realarch]

H. xanthovillosa ‘shogun’. I recently posted in another thread, but thought it appropriate here. Just a killer plant.

Tim

[Dartolution]

Yes it is! Furry bracts and a bright golden yellow! 

How long does this one take to flower for you from shoot @realarch

[mnorell]

On 8/11/2023 at 5:21 PM, Dartolution said:

Is anyone growing heliconia "tropics" or "Tropic fleur" I have some in the landscape as an experiment this year, as well as some in pots for the last 3 years and while it is a VERY vigorous Heliconia it won't bloom. 

I'm growing it out in the California desert...a nice, healthy clump, but in too much shade . It lives over here just fine, though it hasn't flowered for me yet. I have to expose it a bit more to get it enough sun to bloom. But in fact it had one of the best winter appearances of the Heliconias that came through our last, long, unusually chilly winter here. It took right down to the low 30s a half-dozen times or so with no problem.

I checked my notes from when we lived in Natchez, and I had one in the ground and let it overwinter one year (2008/9), it was killed to the roots and I dug it up in early spring to check its status, and it was damaged but still partially alive after a winter with I think two or three (as typical) hard freezes to the low 20s. I salvaged and potted what was left alive of the rhizome but it apparently faded out, and I never replaced it. So I would suggest that you either lift your entire clump and greenhouse it over winter, or at least cut a large portion of it and do so, as I'm pretty sure you will never see it overwinter successfully. But I think that once it is a fairly large clump (after 1-2 years) it will probably make it from shoot to flower in one season due to its psittacorum parent. Heliconias are just slow and frustrating when they're young, they really take a couple of years usually until they feel comfortable expending the energy to flower. Give it the hottest, sunniest spot you have to make sure you see results as quickly as possible.