No flower I grow, not even orchids, calls forth the superlatives that my bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae) does when it blooms. “Exotic!” “Beautiful!” say my garden guests. One, putting forth thumb and forefinger to feel the bloom said, “I see and do not believe.”
These strange flowers are borne on a stalk that rises above the foliage, and they emerge from a rose-colored boat-shaped pod. Two petals are a bright satiny orange color, the tongue a heavy textured, vivid, royal blue.
Each flower lasts for several days, then another emerges so that each stalk blooms for many days. The single flowers may be plucked from the boat to make stunning corsages.
The plant is trunkless, with stiff, erect two to three feet tall paddle-shaped leaves, slightly concave and most attractive. My plant, which is in a large tub and is seven years old, had nine flower stalks blooming in late summer so I had over six weeks of bloom.
After the stalks have finished blooming and dried, a friend takes them, paints them black, and uses them in dried arrangements.
Blooming Strelitzia
Strelitzia will endure neglect but is likely not to bloom. I got my two-year-old plant in an eight-inch pot. Each spring I shifted it to a larger container, finally to a galvanized number three tub, painted green and with handles for easier lugging about the garden.
My plant bloomed when I was three years old. It has large fleshy roots which should not be damaged when shifting. The best way, when the plant is very large, is to have help. Gently wash away the old soil with the hose, and have ready good humus soil for replanting.
In the growing season, a tablespoonful of commercial fertilizer every three weeks is worked into the soil, or a spray with foliar food and plenty of water keeps it happy and growing.
Strelitzia makes a lovely house plant. The stalks of new leaves are rose, gradually fading to green. It may be grown from seeds, suckers, or divisions.
Since mine has grown so large and I do not wish to divide it, I winter it in a sunny east cellar window, watering every week but withholding food until spring when it comes forth to decorate the patio.
A night temperature of 50 degrees is sufficient. It could be kept indefinitely in one of the large redwood planters on casters as a floor plant. Just change the soil each spring and feed well.
I agree heartily with all the superlatives that garden guests give this beautiful plant. A small tree, Poinciana Gilliesii, is sometimes called the bird-of-paradise.
44659 by Kitty Simpson