The Strelitzia "bird of paradise" commonly known as the Crane Flower in South Africa. In it's natural habitat it flowers throughout the Spring and Summer months creating beautiful "bird-like" flowers. The base of the flower or the sheath is called a "spathe" which is perfect for a Sunbird to sit on and pollinate the plant. The spathe shoots out 3 to 4 "sepals" which are brilliant orange along with purple-blue and white petals. The petals open to cover their feet in pollen, truly amazing how nature works! It can grow to 2m.
Your plant is likely only to flower in the right conditions, given a temperate green house environment or a rich loamy soil in the garden. The plant however is best kept indoors to protect it from hard cold winters. The plant will flower usually after 3-5 years since germination. The optimum flowering period is winter and summer months.
Watering: Keep soil consistently moist weekly throughout the summer months and mist the leaves often. Winter keep watering to a little less often.
Light: Good level of direct Sun but a bright room is also fine. Avoid dark spots.
Botanical Boys
About us
Our green adventures started back in 2009 when we moved into a garden flat in East London. We renovated a Japanese and Italian water garden from it's overgrown past but with no prior garden experience we got stuck into the books and learned everything there was to know about pruning shrubs and planting. After the first year tidying the space up we were asked by a friend to join The National Garden Scheme. The scheme recognises gardens of quality and raises money for charity. It was a scary prospect of opening the garden to the scrutiny of the public. So we opened up for the first time and it was so exciting, we received some great positive feedback and some helpful tips from the seasoned gardeners! Subsequently, we opened our garden every year.