Heliconia Thread

[Dartolution]

Who here grows Heliconias (all species), and what species do you grow and where. 

I love these plants and have for years. I have a few varieties of psittacorum (choconiana, sassy, and lady di), a lingulata, and have a hybrid on the way from Ricon PR (etsy). 

These are easily one of my favorite tropicals, but I have struggled with them at times here. They are exceedingly difficult to overwinter even indoors in a warm room with a grow light above them (PFW640, or HB1500). The biggest issue I have faced is root rot, and getting the right soil for them. 

 

I have read that they like bone meal? Can anyone attest to this?

 

 

[KDubU]

I like them a lot too but have zero experience. I have planted three Heliconia rostrata that I ordered back in Dec. They are putting up new growth so happy about that but being in 9a, I believe I am borderline on these. @Dartolution I see you’re in AL, so maybe you have a similar zone to me. Can you list which have been successful for you and any tips?

Edited April 1, 2021 by KDubU

[Missi]

I got some fresh and healthy rhizomes of H. xanthovillosa 'Shogun' (the one with fuzzy yellow inflorescences) and Heliconia psittacorum 'Sassy' from a Puerto Rican grower mid-summer last year. I also got Heliconia indica 'Rubra" from a Hawaiian grower. They all grew well, but of course the plants died back over the winter. Hopefully they come back strong this growing season. There are a ton of other Heliconia species and cultivars I'd love to grow, but they're just too high maintenance in my alkaline, nematode infested sugar sand soil. I prefer my in-ground plants to be less maintenance because I already have a ton of divas in my container garden.

[Merlyn]

I bought the generic orange Psittacorum from the local Lowes, and also Lady Di.  I planted both in the front bed around an oak, and they spread into the bed nicely and bloomed continuously through the summer.  In the first freeze both burned to the ground, and the orange ones never came back.  I think it was only 33F or so.  Lady Di regrew and spread like wildfire this year.  It also burned to the ground at 28F with frost, but many are already resprouting.

I tried a few of the bigger ones, planted in May 2019, with pretty good success:

Bihai Giant: eBay seller from PR, this one is supposed to grow 12-15' tall but maxes out at 6' and never blooms.  The leaves look nice, but I probably got a dud.  90% burn at 28F w/frost.

Chartacea "Temptress": same seller.  It's a quick grower and pretty, but doesn't bloom very much.  It burned to the ground at 28F with frost.

Wagneriana "Rainbow": same seller.  This one rotted in the pot and I never got to plant it.

Latispatha "Gyro": different eBay seller.  This one's also a fast grower and blooms frequently.

Rostrata: from Green's nursery.  Fast grower and frequent bloomer.

My only disappointment is really the Bihai Giant.  I was hoping for a tall beast in that spot.  I read somewhere that they really only bloom South of Miami, so it's possible that they get too cold in the winter and not enough sweltering heat in the summer in the Orlando area.  I'll probably trash this one at some point, and try something like Bihai x Caribaea "Hot Rio Nights" or "Richmond Red." 

[Merlyn]

Here's the other ones that I've researched but never bought:

Angusta – any types	Height	Hardy to upper 20s and bloom Thanksgiving-Dec so may never bloom?
Angusta "Red Holiday"	2 – 3	Red/white flowers at Christmas
Bihai or Caribaea	10 – 25	Marginal blooming except S of Miami, generally avoid it
Bihai x Caribaea "Hot Rio Nights"	6 – 13	Leu recommended, vertical then pendulant red blooms
Bihai x Caribaea "Richmond Red"	6 – 13	Leu recommended, vertical then pendulant red blooms
Heliconia Bihai x Marginata "Raulineana"	6 – 7	May-June bloom at 6 to 10ft tall with established clumps
Densiflora "Fire Flash"	3 – 4	Red/orange flowers
Hirsuta "Peru"	4 – 5	small red/orange flowers
Latispatha 'Mexican Gold'		Hardy to low teens, blooms Sep-Nov
Latispatha "Distans"	2 – 5	May die/rot below 20F, blooms Sep-Nov
Lingulata	5 – 15	May die/rot below 20F, blooms Aug-Nov, may bloom in 1 year stalks
Lingulata "Spiral Fan"		Leu – froze in Jan and 4-5ft tall and blooming in late May
Psittacorum "Andromeda"	1 – 2	Dwarf Orange heliconia, also may not regrow
Pendula	5 – 6	Hanging flowers, "Frosty" and "Red Waxy"
Schiedeana	5 – 6	Easy growing cold hardy to 28-29F, but may never bloom if stalks die back
Subulata	5 – 8	Easy growing cold hardy to 30s, but may never bloom if stalks die back
Vaginalis "Africa"	5 – 6	Full sun to 30% shade, good to 20-25F, probably 9a safe per Leu Gardens

[necturus]

I am growing Heliconia schiedeana and Mexican Gold. Both are pushing new growth after our severe freeze. Mexican Gold can supposedly die to the ground, recover and bloom the same year, whereas schiedeana takes a year without damage to bloom. I cannot personally attest to this yet. H. schiedeana bloomed well at Mercer Botanical Garden last year.

[Dartolution]

4 hours ago, KDubU said:

I like them a lot too but have zero experience. I have planted three Heliconia rostrata that I ordered back in Dec. They are putting up new growth so happy about that but being in 9a, I believe I am borderline on these. @Dartolution I see you’re in AL, so maybe you have a similar zone to me. Can you list which have been successful for you and any tips?

@KDubU I live in zone 8a and unfortunately cannot grow these places in the ground. All of mine are potted, and I have encountered issues with them like most attempting to grow them in this manner along the way. 

 

@Merlyn Thanks for the input. Do you fertilize with anything? 

 

@necturus Schiedeana is supposed to be the most cold hardy Heliconia, but because of the requirement to have a good 12-18months of grow before flowering, I don't even bother with planting it, and would much rather have something like a rostrata. 

 

I had a rostrata last year I grew to about 7 feet, then repotted, and then a hurricane hit (Zeta) and threw it all over the yard. Shortly after putting it back into its new pot, the cold hit, and it really never recovered. I will attempt growing a rostrata again. 

[Merlyn]

I toss mine some generic 10-10-10 fast release 4x per year, but otherwise I don't give them anything.  They are in fairly rich soil in a raised bed around an oak tree.  This is a photo from January 2020, shortly after a 33F cold front.  The Chartacea "Temptress" is the torched cluster.  The "Orange Gyro" is on the left, Rostrata is on the other side of the oak (and did ok at 33F) and Bihai not-so-Giant is on the right side, just behind the 6' tall Hawaiian Ti.  The taller plant in the background, just to the right of the oak, is a "Bordelon" banana.

[Dartolution]

Just a bump for this thread. 

 

[Dartolution]

Anyone have any exciting blooms on their heli's this growing season?

[KDubU]

No blooms here yet. Was hoping but mine are a bit short still and I think getting too much sun. Think I will need to plant something to provide them more shade.

[Josue Diaz]

I grow scheidiana and a Pedro Ortiz hybrid in the ground in z9b (Fresno, CA). No blooms yet on either, but they overwinter just fine. I'm expecting blooms on my scheidiana this year as it's about as long as it takes for each pseudo-stem to mature and bloom. 

You can see the scheidiana in the background here

And these are my Pedro Ortiz hybrid (purchased 2 years ago at XOTX in Hollywood). 

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Josue Diaz

[metalfan]

On 7/17/2021 at 9:49 PM, Dartolution said:

Anyone have any exciting blooms on their heli's this growing season?

No new ones except Rostrata, but these other 2 are from last season Sharonii, winter bloomer, this was from last November, Lobster Claw #2 last August/September. This should bloom again soon.

[Dartolution]

Here are mine for this year. I cheated and picked up a pot of Psittacorums this spring at LOWES.

 

Heliconia "Tropics" from a PR etsy seller. I got this one earlier this spring - late march, so its only been growing 4-5 months. Seems to shoot readily and rapidly. 

 

Groupings of 2 potted Rostratas *same seller - late march * 

 

My Lingulata that I had to regrow from the rhizome this year due to root rot over the winter. In front is a lady di psittacorum on the right, and a pot of mixed psittacorums (Sassy, Choconiana, and Andromeda) :

 

BONUS:

My Dwarf Namwah I got from tissue culture. 

[sgvcns]

Well it's the middle of winter here but I cut some flowers today

Steve

 

[metalfan]

This is one of my faves, I have 3....but none have bloomed yet. I understand that it is a 'shy bloomer'. Heliconia zebrina 'Inca'

[Merlyn]

After 2.5 years of the heliconia Chartacea "Temptress" sorta regrowing and not blooming...and the Bihai "Not-So-Giant" really failing to grow back right, I am dumping those two species.  The Latispatha "Orange Gyro" is hardy to around 30F with frost, and blooms all the time here.  Likewise the Rostrata blooms frequently and seems pretty hardy.  I also had good luck with Psittacorum "Lady Di" growing back, but all the regular orange Psittacorum died after the first winter frost, and never regrew.

So I ordered Bihai x Caribaea "Rio Hot Nights" and Orthotricha x Stricta "St. Rose" to fill the spots from Temptress and Bihai Giant.  And I'm thinking about getting the variegated leaf type of Psittacorum, but I've seen it listed as a variant called "Candy Cane" and "Lady Di."  Does anyone have any experience with these?

[metalfan]

I have the variegated one. I got it in a trade years and years ago. It was called 'El Tigre' back then. I keep it in a large container

[greysrigging]

I'm not a heli enthusiast per say, but have a couple coming into flower atm.  July is a mid winter, or more correctly, a mid dry season month in Darwin, although the temps are averaging in the 90f's this month.

 

[Dartolution]

@Merlyn where are you ordering yours from?

Heliconia seem to be very difficult to source here, or online outside of a rhizome. 

Also, have you tried costa flores? 

[Merlyn]

23 minutes ago, Dartolution said:

@Merlyn where are you ordering yours from? Heliconia seem to be very difficult to source here, or online outside of a rhizome.  Also, have you tried costa flores? 

I bought mine from a PR seller of rhizomes, I think it was "tropical_heliconias."  I believe the same seller is also on Etsy under the name "YeyBroms."  At least they appear to have mostly the same inventory and prices.  I bought rhizomes only, and just had one rot and die in the pot before sprouting, a "Wagneriana Rainbow."  That's probably because I bought them in December 2019 and just had them in pots mostly dry over the winter.  There are a bunch of sellers at the Leu Gardens sale, and they had actual plants in addition to just rhizomes.  But I wasn't in the market at the time.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

I bought mine from a PR seller of rhizomes, I think it was "tropical_heliconias."  I believe the same seller is also on Etsy under the name "YeyBroms."  At least they appear to have mostly the same inventory and prices.  I bought rhizomes only, and just had one rot and die in the pot before sprouting, a "Wagneriana Rainbow."  That's probably because I bought them in December 2019 and just had them in pots mostly dry over the winter.  There are a bunch of sellers at the Leu Gardens sale, and they had actual plants in addition to just rhizomes.  But I wasn't in the market at the time.

If he is still in business, you might try to contact the owner of J.G's Tropical Plants.. He's always at the plant sales and i believe he sells online .. though maybe just to FL. customers.  Him and Calusa Palms Nursery were my primary sources for all things Gingers / Heliconia while there in FL.  Always had some really neat stuff and was a great person to talk with regarding hardiness of particular varieties.

There's also Plant Group,  out of Hawaii. Their site says they specialize in like 200+ vars of Gingers / Heliconias.. Worth a look.

[metalfan]

I have purchased from Plant Group Hawaii. They send good stuff. I used to obtain most of mine from Costa Rica from a place called Highland Heliconia. I don;t think they exist anymore. Excelsa Gardens in So FL always has nice Heliconia, but I don't think they mail order. A lot of the ones I used to grow years ago were obtained as trades with other Floridians.

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

If he is still in business, you might try to contact the owner of J.G's Tropical Plants.. He's always at the plant sales and i believe he sells online .. though maybe just to FL. customers.

I'm pretty sure J.G.'s is the one I saw at Leu Gardens, it looks like they have a Facebook page with new plants. 

Plant Group Hawaii looks like a winner for Heliconia, with $19 flat rate shipping and a huge selection.  Many are out of stock, but a few that I was considering ("Richmond Red" and "Raulineana") are in stock and relatively cheap.

[Silas_Sancona]

4 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

I'm pretty sure J.G.'s is the one I saw at Leu Gardens, it looks like they have a Facebook page with new plants. 

Plant Group Hawaii looks like a winner for Heliconia, with $19 flat rate shipping and a huge selection.  Many are out of stock, but a few that I was considering ("Richmond Red" and "Raulineana") are in stock and relatively cheap.

Yea, noticed how many of the different selections on Plant Group's site were currently sold out /out of stock.. Sure you saw that you can be notified when they have certain ones you might be interested in are back in stock. Have a list of ones i want to pick up from them later.

JG was at pretty much every plant sale i'd attended both back in 2010-11 and in 2014 -15.. Always had plenty of things to choose from.  Used to get notifications from him after i moved until i dumped my old e-mail.

[Dartolution]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I bought mine from a PR seller of rhizomes, I think it was "tropical_heliconias."  I believe the same seller is also on Etsy under the name "YeyBroms."  At least they appear to have mostly the same inventory and prices.  I bought rhizomes only, and just had one rot and die in the pot before sprouting, a "Wagneriana Rainbow."  That's probably because I bought them in December 2019 and just had them in pots mostly dry over the winter.  There are a bunch of sellers at the Leu Gardens sale, and they had actual plants in addition to just rhizomes.  But I wasn't in the market at the time.

Thats who I have always gotten my rhizomes from and to my knowledge one of the only sellers that consistently has a variety to choose from. I have never gotten a bad rhizome. I was sick when my rostrata died last winter (Root rot indoors). I've got the 2 going this year and potted in soil that has much more chunky perlite. 

I've seen JG's on facebook when I had an account, but never saw anything about shipping. 

Plant Group Hawaii does have a ton but almost everything is out of stock. Do they ship plants, or rhizomes? 

 

[Kailua_Krish]

7 hours ago, Dartolution said:

Thats who I have always gotten my rhizomes from and to my knowledge one of the only sellers that consistently has a variety to choose from. I have never gotten a bad rhizome. I was sick when my rostrata died last winter (Root rot indoors). I've got the 2 going this year and potted in soil that has much more chunky perlite. 

I've seen JG's on facebook when I had an account, but never saw anything about shipping. 

Plant Group Hawaii does have a ton but almost everything is out of stock. Do they ship plants, or rhizomes? 

 

Most of my heliconia have been from plant group hawaii. They ship rhizomes but they are freshly cut and very healthy. My experience has always been large rhizomes too. They're out of stock frequently I think because they only take and ship from their stock that can tolerate it since they also sell cut flowers. 

Unfortunately even though Im in Hawaii in my soils about 50% of the species turn lime green and slowly die. I cant grow any of the Chartaceae and even some of the runners but most of the lobster claw varieties do well (as well as 'Bali"). I think its a soil pH issue and the caribbean species do better

[metalfan]

These are some of the ones I have grown in the past. All of these were planted in the ground, inside my greenhouse. I am in 9A, and heliconia are not reliably hardy here. I have a friend who is trialing Scheidiana, and he has a much more favorable microclimate than I do, living in an older subdivision with lots of densely packed almost zero lot kind of houses on the sides but large back yards, lots of concrete and asphalt. I live in the woods, no concrete, little asphalt, nearest neighbor 2 acres away, lots of dense tree canopy but that doesn't act the same. SO greenhouse it is.I have a ton of other photos on an old disc but can;t find it These are, in order, stricta Bucky, stricta Tatami, Richmond Red, Peachy Pink. The only ones of these that I still have is Bucky. I should have ditched Bucky and kept Peachy Pink. 

[Dartolution]

17 hours ago, Kailua_Krish said:

Most of my heliconia have been from plant group hawaii. They ship rhizomes but they are freshly cut and very healthy. My experience has always been large rhizomes too. They're out of stock frequently I think because they only take and ship from their stock that can tolerate it since they also sell cut flowers. 

Unfortunately even though Im in Hawaii in my soils about 50% of the species turn lime green and slowly die. I cant grow any of the Chartaceae and even some of the runners but most of the lobster claw varieties do well (as well as 'Bali"). I think its a soil pH issue and the caribbean species do better

@Kailua_Krish Lime green leaves and slowed growth has plagued me for 2 years. No matter what soil mix I used it would happen. 

This year it started, and I added bone meal and sul-po-mag and within a week the leaves turned dark green and growth rapidly resumed.

I imagine its probably a potassium and sulphur issue. I might be wrong. All I do know, is that by adding this mix this year, it has saved mine. 

I also use blood meal, and epsom salts. Whatever it is - it is working this year. 

 

 

[Dartolution]

14 hours ago, metalfan said:

These are some of the ones I have grown in the past. All of these were planted in the ground, inside my greenhouse. I am in 9A, and heliconia are not reliably hardy here. I have a friend who is trialing Scheidiana, and he has a much more favorable microclimate than I do, living in an older subdivision with lots of densely packed almost zero lot kind of houses on the sides but large back yards, lots of concrete and asphalt. I live in the woods, no concrete, little asphalt, nearest neighbor 2 acres away, lots of dense tree canopy but that doesn't act the same. SO greenhouse it is.I have a ton of other photos on an old disc but can;t find it These are, in order, stricta Bucky, stricta Tatami, Richmond Red, Peachy Pink. The only ones of these that I still have is Bucky. I should have ditched Bucky and kept Peachy Pink. 

 

 

@metalfan I would assume the last image is the peachy pink? How tall is this one? 

 

[metalfan]

Average. About 8-10 ft

 

[metalfan]

My caribaeas have topped out at 16- 18 feet in the past.

[Phyllostachys]

Hey folks! 

I'm in Vancouver Canada (zone 8) and have tried 2 Heliconias so far.

I got a H. psittacorum last summer; brought it in for severe frosts, but it rotted away from winter wet and minor radial frosts in early winter. I had it planted in a pot below a young Barbados cherry (Malpighia), which is still alive and doing fine, so it wasn't exposed to that much frost.

The second Heliconia I got was sold to me by a fellow gardener at a plant sale as a 'Highland Heliconia', so I don't know what species it is. I've had it for 2 years. First year I divided it and kept it indoor all winter. Foliage damaged easily and they never looked that great. Last summer I planted one in the ground and brought the others outside to see how much growth they could put out with more light. I planted the one in a South facing bed, between asphalt and the house - the warmest spot I have. It put on a bit of growth over the summer, but it was lackluster next to my bananas and Hedychium.

All the other divisions I had in pots were looking pretty beat up by the end of summer, and had been slower to grow than I had hoped. I forgot them out and they froze, so I left them for dead, unprotected all winter. 

Much to my surprise, all these 'highland heliconias', in ground and in pots, survived the winter! We had a bad cold spell that kept us below zero (0°C) for over a week, I think the low was -9°C (15F) for two nights in a row. Even with that cold, in wet pots that didn't dry for multiple months, this Heliconias survived! Attached are photos of how they are now. As you can see, they were slow to pop in the summer and haven't yet grown much. Any thoughts on an ID?

I'm open to babying Heliconias that could put out attractive growth by mid-summer. Do you have any recommendations for standout species or cultivars that could perform well for cold hardiness, with yearly dieback and cool summers? Even if they don't flower, I'm also interested in species that would grow well as foliage 'perennials'.

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Phyllostachys

[Merlyn]

20 minutes ago, Phyllostachys said:

I got a H. psittacorum last summer; brought it in for severe frosts, but it rotted away from winter wet and minor radial frosts in early winter.

The second Heliconia I got was sold to me by a fellow gardener at a plant sale as a 'Highland Heliconia', so I don't know what species it is. I've had it for 2 years. First year I divided it and kept it indoor all winter.

Psittacorum are wimps for me, the regular orange type died the first winter and never came back.  The red-yellow "Lady Di" type regrew in the same bed area, and again came back this year from 28F and frost.  "Highland Heliconia" could be Clinophila, that's the only name I ran across on a quick google search.  If it flowers you can probably figure out the species. 

Schiedeana is supposed to be one of the hardier types.  My Latispatha "Orange Gyro" is probably the hardiest that I have so far.  It took 28F with frost ok while the others all burnt to the ground.

[Tropicdoc]

I haven’t seen the hybrid “carmasita” mentioned yet. I used to get tons of blooms from it in ground under greenhouse. It has running rhizomes and spreads far and wide though

[Dartolution]

@Phyllostachys

Unfortunately I do not know of any heliconia species that is hardy enough to survive teens and still bloom the next year. Typically heliconias need 1-2 years of growth to bloom with some exceptions - notably psittacorums and their hybrids can bloom in 6-8 months if provided excellent growing conditions. 

Schiedeana does survive quite nasty winters, but without a solid 12 months at least of continuous growth they do not flower. 

Lady di, and other "hardy" psittacorums are worth a try in a warm, south facing, protected area that is heavily mulched, but in that north latitude I am not sure if they will flower consistently or even at all.

 

Psittacorums especially seem to be extremely prone to root rot in winter (I've had my fair share of it). You have to keep the roots warm and do not overwater during the winter. Its a chore. 

I grew quite a large rostrata last year (around 5-6 ft) which I was very proud of haha, however hurricane zeta in October basically took it out, and it never recovered before winter arrived and ended up rotting.

 

I got some "Tropic" rhizomes from YeyBroms on etsy this year, and this is by far the most vigorous heliconia I have attempted to grow. I think this was has some really good potential for a 1 year bloom with vigorous growth. 

 

It appears that my "sassy" psittacorums survived (potted/rhizome divisions) and are growing thankfully. This is probably my favorite psittacorum. 

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Dartolution said:

Unfortunately I do not know of any heliconia species that is hardy enough to survive teens and still bloom the next year.

I got some "Tropic" rhizomes from YeyBroms on etsy this year, and this is by far the most vigorous heliconia I have attempted to grow. I think this was has some really good potential for a 1 year bloom with vigorous growth.

Very true, my bigger Heliconia all required overwintered stems in order to bloom.  The smaller ones like Psittacorum bloom in 2-4 months after planting a rhizome, but they are super fast growers anyway and bloom at 2-3' tall. 

Any idea what the "Tropic" one is?  PlantGroupHawaii lists it as a Psittacorum hybrid of some sort, and a vigorous runner.  Other places list it as a Psittacorum x Spathocircinata. 

"Sassy" looks interesting, do you have any idea on hardiness on those?

This summer's purchases are now Bihai x Caribaea "Rio Hot Nights," Orthotricha x Stricta "St. Rose," Psittacorum variegated leaf (either Lady Di or Candy Cane, depending on the source), and Latispatha "Red-Yellow Gyro."  My "Orange Gyro" has been blooming nonstop this summer, so hopefully the red-yellow will do the same!

[Dartolution]

@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. 

[Tropicdoc]

On 7/22/2021 at 7:28 AM, metalfan said:

These are some of the ones I have grown in the past. All of these were planted in the ground, inside my greenhouse. I am in 9A, and heliconia are not reliably hardy here. I have a friend who is trialing Scheidiana, and he has a much more favorable microclimate than I do, living in an older subdivision with lots of densely packed almost zero lot kind of houses on the sides but large back yards, lots of concrete and asphalt. I live in the woods, no concrete, little asphalt, nearest neighbor 2 acres away, lots of dense tree canopy but that doesn't act the same. SO greenhouse it is.I have a ton of other photos on an old disc but can;t find it These are, in order, stricta Bucky, stricta Tatami, Richmond Red, Peachy Pink. The only ones of these that I still have is Bucky. I should have ditched Bucky and kept Peachy Pink. 

Your post just convinced me keep a greenhouse and keep growing heliconias 

[Tropicdoc]