Cold-hardy heliconias...I need your help.

[clinton9]

Dear members,
I would like your advise about cold-hardy heliconias.

I had grew both heliconias and edible banana plants in my backyard gardens, for
11 past years and had eaten the bananas from my banana plants.

My edible banana plants grew to height 150-200 inches..see my last photo, while the tallest flower of my heliconia subulata, is two metres in height.

Climate whose I lives in Thames, New Zealand, was warm temperature and in zone
9b (close to zone 10).
Thames is in latitude 37oS.

Average climate in Thames, New Zealand:

Temperature:
Summertime :54oF to 64oF
Wintertime: 47oF to 48oF
Lowest winter temperature: -30oF for 1-3 wintertime nights, per winter.

Frost season: 10 June to 10th August.
10 frosts per year.

4 frost on June
5 frost on July
1 frost on August

Wettest coolest months are June to August.
15 wet days on June
16 wet days on July
15 wet days on August.

I have heliconias that grew well in my backyard gardens:
h.subulata cv "Thaysiana" and h.schiedeana - both had flowered for seaval years.
When I planted h.subulata, they did not flowered for 5 past years, until I fed
it with sheep manure pellets during springtime (October) and I had to loose the
soil, with hand fork during wintertime, to allow drainage & air to rhizomes (I
am careful not to damage the rhizomes) because cold wet soil, with no drainage,
will kill the heliconia rhizomes.
I have heliconias that grew well for over 3 past years, but had not flowered
yet, in my gardens:
h.latispatha and h.pendula cv "Bright Red" and h.spissa "Mexico Red" and
h.augusta "Red Christmas" and h.tortuosa "Red Twister".
My h. augusta "Red Christmas" and h.spissa had never flowered for over 6 past
years.
I had noticed my h.pendula and h.tortuosa had grew bigger each year for 3 past
years, since I planted them over 3 past years ago.
I had learnt to feed them well in springtime.
I had learnt that heliconias that been planted in gardens with cooler climate,
(my h.pendula were grown in warmer Whangarei, were planted in Thames by me) need
seaval years to become acclimatized to climate.
Carla black's h.chartacea "Sexy Pink" took 3 years to acclimatized to cool
tierra templada climate, and each years it get bigger each year, until after 3
years, it flowered.

New heliconias I had planted over 6 past months, and had never seen the winter
outdoor yet:
One h.aemygdiana (height 20cm)
One h.chartacea "Sexy Pink" (height 20cm)
Three h.penduloides (height 30cm to 50cm)
One h.pseudoaemygdiana (height 30cm)
One h.griggsianas (height 60cm)
One h.dielsiana (height 60cm)
Three h. nutans (height 30cm to 50cm)
One h.lingulata (height 50cm)

Heliconia latispatha: I had planted the rhizome in soil last year, then the
stalks died, but rhizome stayed alive and today the green leaves are 30cm in
height, it is on its first year of acclimatizing to Thames climate.

H.bourgaeana: I raised three plants from seeds and it spent the first year
inside my hothouse, then I planted it outdoor before its 1st birthday, and it
stayed alive during its first winter outdoor, then now at 2 year old, it is
making bigger new leaves only and 4 feet tall, with leaf tip reached 9 feet
(height).
It may flower after its 3rd birthday.

I have seaval h.collinsiana and I wonder ...are they cold hardy ???

I had dug the most sheltered part of my garden...see my photoes, with black plastic sheet on fence, for my h.rostrata & h.chartacea.

I planned to plant h.mariae, h.champneiana, h.wagneriana, h.hirsuta,
h.imbricata, h.aurantiaca, h.ramonensis, h.pogonantha, h.lankesteri, h.bahai, h.
irrasa, h.matthiaseae, h.marginata, h.mutisiana,h.hirsuta, h.lutea, h.flabellata, h.standleyi, h.raulineana, h.monterdensis, h.champneiana, h.orthotrichas, h.richmond red, h. mexican gold, h.peachy pink, h.cholate dancer, h.vellerigera, h.impudica in my gardens in future years, but I need your help in tell me which is which suitable heliconias for my gardens.

I looked in page of Tropical-look plants other than palms and found words "highland heliconias". After I pressed "highland heliconia" but it was not available..(I felt disappointed)

Can you please provide me the lists of cold-hardy heliconias and highland heliconias.

Cheers

Clinton.

[Laisla87]

I don't know how different your climate is but here in Sydney I grow the following Heliconias outside with no trouble:

BihaiXcaribea = Jaquini

Caribea 'Kawauchi'

Caribea 'Kawika'

Pendula'red waxy'

PsittacorumXspiro "Tropica"

BihaiXCaribea 'Chocolate Dancer'

[clinton9]

Hey members !

Expert for Laisla87, I had not got advises from you.

[clinton9]

Hey members,

I am disppointed (Expert for Laisla87) none of you had replied to my topic

I looked in page of Tropical-look plants other than palms and found words "highland heliconias". After I pressed "highland heliconia" but it was not available..(I felt disappointed)

Can you please provide me the lists of cold-hardy heliconias and highland heliconias.

Clinton.

[Peter G]

Hi Clinton,

I have 3 varieties of heliconia, all grow very well for me

Sabulata

Chocolate Dancer

Golden Torch

The Sabulata does very well during Winter, plenty of flowers during Spring.

Chocolate Dancer flowered for the first time last Spring, it gets a little torn during Winter.

Also have Hot Rio Nights in pots, waiting to find a suitable place for it, it grows to 4m with a 1m long flower!

Not sure how these would grow for you, I don't get any frosts, we have a few months of cold weather though.

Good Luck!

Peter G

[KiwiPalmGuy]

Old topic but thought I would add my input.

I'm based on the Kapiti Coast, 50km north of Wellington. We dont get much frost here as we are pretty close to the beach (1.5km), In the last year just 7 nights. I grow cold hardy Heliconia schiedeana and subulata. Both grow well here in a sheltered area, also growing some bananas (Musa basjoo - yet to flower) and strelitzias (alba/augusta, nicolai, reginae, juncea, and Ravenala from Madagascar). As Thames is further north, I can only imagine that they would grow far better up there that they do here. 

I came across this article a while ago which you may find of interest.

http://www.subtropical.co.nz/writingHeliconias.html

Edited April 3, 2018 by KiwiPalmGuy