I grew it for 2 years in a container. It's a very large heliconia. I never got it to bloom. It died during the winter of the second year in a heated greenhouse. I have a friend growing it in Los Angeles. He's had it 5 years and it has never bloomed. The largest, oldest stalks seem to stall in winter and by spring, they are dead he says. If you're looking to grow heliconia in New Orleans, Scheideana, Rostrata, Pedro Ortiz, Tortuosa, Nutans are some of the cold hardy ones that would probably make it in a protected spot in the ground where you live.

Steve

Great thanks! I don't mind the heliconia getting knocked back every couple of years when we have freezes, but they need to be robust enough to actually come back and bloom in the years when there was no freeze.
I have what is supposedly the yellow variant of rostrata that I brought back from the northshore and it was 100% reliable there, but it never bloomed. It hates the lake wind here and dies back severely after a wind storm in the winter, even if it stays above 40. I moved it to a very protected spot, and if this winter turns out to be as warm as they say it will be, it will be that plant's last chance. I may put it up for adoption next spring.
I have a Maya Blood rhizome that is rooting up a storm but hasn't pushed any green yet. If rostrata gets the shovel, I may replace it with Pedro Ortiz.
Perhaps if I tell it I am going to shovel it, it will get its act together. It worked for the peach tree, the lime tree and a few roses that were misbehaving. =)

Evenie

Maya Blood won't make it. I tried that one too. In fact, at one time, I grew over 30 heliconia; all in containers overwintered in my greenhouse. I down to 5 now. I'm surprised your Rostrata won't make it in NO. I know several people in the Garden District that grow it successfully in protected spots. There would be no chance to grow any heliconia on the Northshore. That's a much colder area. Maybe even a zone colder.

Steve

Ahh, the garden district is right on the river and far away from the awful lake wind. I used know a few people in the Marigny who had them as well, but all the cool stuff grows there.
The ones in the greenhouse, did they stay in pots all the time, or did you plant them in the ground and dig them back up in the fall?

I grew them in pots. I used the greenhouse to overwinter. It was too much trouble to plant them in the spring and then dig them up in the winter.

Great, thanks for the info. I intend to leave Maya Blood in the ground and cover it if the weather gets nasty, but I can easily dig up a rhizome to bring in the house for the winter in the fall in case of failure. I find my rhizome plants are much happier if they can spend at least part of the year in the ground. I have very few things that aren't reliable, so it shouldn't be too much work. I just need to be careful to not be a glutton quit buying while I'm ahead.

Heliconia rhizomes don't store well over the winter. They have no seasonal dormant period in their natural environment. If you dig up a heliconia, you will have to continue to care for it so you should plan to dig up the rhizome and plant, pot it up, and continue to care for it providing some sun, warmth, and water. Otherwise, it will wilt away.

Steve

Oh definitely. I have a rather large living room with panoramic southern and western exposure windows, and I am myself a plant, so I run a really big humidifier all winter long. The the gingers and whatnot I already bring in do very well.