Advice on growing Heliconia Rostrata

16 years ago

Well I finally found a trade for some Heliconia Rostrata rhyzomes. I will be potting them until next year. Hopefully they will survive and be planted in late March next year. I have been growing cannas, bananas, and gingers for quite a while, but have heard that heliconias can be more difficult. So I have a few questions..........

1. How much should I water while waiting for the rhyzomes to send up new growth?

2. Should I fertilize as soon as the rhyzomes are planted or wait for new growth? And what type of fertilizer works best?

3.How easily does this heliconia become root bound when growing in a pot?

4. I have read that Heliconia Rostrata likes part shade. But have read a post from others growing theirs outside in full sun. Given that I will have to protect these during winter, would it be better for me to plant in full sun once I put them in the ground? So the plant recieves direct sun in the morning after a cold night.

Any other advice on starting this Heliconia from rhyzome will be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (6)

bihai
16 years ago
You should probably not plant it in the ground at all in your zone. I am in the same zone and cannot grow it in the ground. It freezes every winter. It comes back every spring, but it never gets big enought to bloom. Rostrata needs at least 2 years of undisturbed growth when starting from a rhizome to produce stalks that will flower. You probably won't get that.
southlatropical
Original Author
16 years ago
Another member here on GW (lac1361)is growing this heliconia outside in my area. He uses a portable heated greenhouse when the temp gets below 32. I'm thinking about trying to do the same thing. I have a spot I can plant it against a south facing wall that gets sun from dawn until about 4pm.
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Everything Kekoa said is correct, I'll just add a few more comments: Most heliconias bloom better in full sun to partial shade (depending on where you live, of course). You can grow them in the shade but you may not get as many flowers. Of course, in the sun you'll need to feed them more to keep them green, and water well until they get established. We sell bare-root heliconias, and for sale purposes we cut them into individual pieces, clean off all the soil, cut the roots off and stems back to about a foot or so. We advise people to start them in pots until they see some new growth, but if you already have a big ol'chunk of plant with an intact root ball you can probably get by without cutting it back so hard. If it were me, though, I'd at least remove any stems with flowers, they'll probably fade quckly due to transplanting stress anyway. It should be in active growth right now, which is the best time to start them. Some varieties divide and transplant more easily than others, and rostrata is one of the easier ones. It is also one that runs somewhat. Contrary to popular opinion, not all helis are invasive, but this one can eventually spread to where you don't want it. -Lisa
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Hey Jaxtropix, that's exciting, I can't wait to see what it's like. I moved my heliconia red angusta ouside a month ago. I thought it suffered a little because of the heater inside the house. the leaves were showing sign off dryness so I brought it ouside for more humidity. last week, I noticed a green with red line color bud coming from the tip of the plant. it's bulgy and has a tiny leaf at the end. is that influorescence? if it is, I'm surprised considering it has been exposed to near freezing point twice. yesterday was 0.2 in the morning for 2 hours, and it hasn't shown sign of damage yet.
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So cut down the whole stalk, leaves and all to soil level? Or just the stem the flower was on? I did cut some down all the way to soil level, leaves and all on the Strawberries n Cream..I feel like I killed them..I dont see anything happening. Right now I have an andromeda bloom thats done, but I wanted to be sure what I did to the S&C's was correct before I did it to ANdromeda also. Are heliconias just slow to have more babies pop up? You think it will perk up and produce faster come spring? Thank you, Daniella
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bihai
16 years ago
I know lac1361 very well. Great guy, great grower. He has had great success with the portable greenhouse. I use one too, but not for rostrata. My own personal rule of thumb is, if it will flower reliably in a container and isn't "really" hardy in my area, I keep it in a container. But that's just my personal preference. If you are planning on protecting it to that extent, then by all means, you will probably have success as well. I planted some out as an experiment 3-4 years ago. They have gone to the ground every winter but always come back up. This last winter, we only had a SINGLE night that brought them down! But that one night was 23F. If not for that one night, I'd probably be looking at a few blooms right now, LOL. I know Steve got a bloom on his Pedro Ortiz this summer.
garyfla_gw
16 years ago
Hi
I have no problem growing it but managing it is a chore lol. Gets big about 15 to 20 feet the flowers are so heavy they pull the stalk down very prone to wind damage. They run right at the surface woill crowd out everything. Require a lot of water and sulk during cold spells.
Another interesting habit. Ants love them lol.
If you can figure a good way to stake them they are fantastic in flower. gary
southlatropical
Original Author
16 years ago
I may decide to leave it in a container and wait for some Heliconia schiedeana to try outside. I have until next year to make up my mind. But what about getting the rhyzomes started off on the right track?
bihai
16 years ago
Do not fertilize until you have good new growth.
Do not overwater while you try to resprout your rhizomes. Maybe once or twice a week.

Advice on growing Heliconia Rostrata

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bihai

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Advice on growing Heliconia Rostrata

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