Helliconia not flowering

21 years ago

Dear All,

I wonder if soemone can help ..Last year we bought a Heliconia from a Market in NSW and planted it into our Garden . The Heliconia has gone crazy and is now at least 10 times the size of the originally bought one. I can't remember the name of it but am pretty sure it had a picture on it of a red hanging thing (sorry but can't remember). However we have not seen one flower / or red thing so was wondering what we are doing wrong . It seems to be VERY happy , in full sun, fed with aged horse manure and watered regulary. Please help.......

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Comments (6)

CoralCoast_Tropicals
21 years ago
Loobylou,
It sounds like you have the right growing conditions but I would not always believe what the label says especially if it was bought at a market. Depending on where you are in Queenland will depend on what Heliconias will grow and flower there. If you are in SE Qld, the pendant flowering Heliconias that will flower well are the common Heliconia rostrata (most commonly grown), Heliconia collinsiana and Heliconia pendula. Other pendant types can grow but are shy flowerers. If it is Heliconia rostrata it should start to come into flower within a month to 2 months time.

How long has it been in the ground, they can at times take a couple of years to flower depending on the original plant or rhizome size. Be patient but if it doesn't flower within the next couple of years I would rip it out and replace it with a reliable variety (Send me an email and I can let you know which ones flower well). Around this time of year I feed my Heliconias with a chemical fertiliser such as Crop King 88 or Tropic, this will really get them moving along and flowering.

Andrew.
loobylou100
Original Author
21 years ago
Thank you Andrew...I appreciate your answer. The plant has been in the ground for one year and is happily sprouting new growth at the moment ..just no signs of flowers. Maybe i will just be patient for a little longer!
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CoralCoast_Tropicals
21 years ago
I am thinking that if it is a pendant flowering type it is probably Heliconia rostrata which will be coming into flower within the next couple of months.

Andrew.
Annie_qld
21 years ago
Andrew,
What about the Heliconia "Christmas"?
I've had one for ages and it never flowered. I moved it a couple of times, thinking that I didn't have enough/too much sun but nothing seemed to help. It was in a big pot.
This year, I've just divided it up, some I've put in the ground, full shade/partial shade and some I've left in a pot. They are just starting to sprout new growth now.
Do you think they'll flower this year?
What do I need to do to put the "fear of God" into them?
thanks,
Annie
CoralCoast_Tropicals
21 years ago
Annie,

It is a bit too late to get flowers off them now. One thing I found with them is that they seem to depend on short days for flowering. I had a large tub of Heliconia angusta growing in my courtyard under a light, it should have produced maybe 40 to 50 flowers but didn't get one!
The problem was the light, it produced too much day length for the silly thing and hence why it wouldn't flower.

In the garden I grow them in a shaded position with filtered light. I find that this heliconia doesn't like too much sun and just the usual heaps of water and fertiliser.

Andrew.
Annie_qld
21 years ago
Do you mean I have to wait, again, til next year?
oh, well.
I'm sure that, one day, I'll think to myself, what is that red thing I can see behind the whats-it and in front of the whos-it and, lo and behold, it'll be my Christmas Heliconia.
Hope I live that long. :)))
Thanks Andrew.

Helliconia not flowering

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loobylou100
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Helliconia not flowering

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CoralCoast_Tropicals

loobylou100Original Author

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loobylou100
Original Author