Human pollination of Heliconia is a very new and relatively unexplored field. I only know of a few people that have even tried. They were attempting (unsuccessfully) to do hybrids though. I would imagine they are similar to gingers in that early morning pollination is a must. I'd also suspect that you'll have to rip apart the flowers to better pollinate them. You aren't going to get too many, if any, people chiming in with real world tips, so experimenting is a must. It can be done of course, so have at it. Tim Chapman

Would you trade a couple of white butterfly gingers for a Red Russian Canna? or one of the others? Contact me at gwat1@swbell.net Thanks!

Well the flower picture which came with the H. ameygdiana is:- http://www.celtlore.co.uk/garden/HeliconiaAemygddiana.bmp And my M Velutinas flower like (Sorry it's winter so only one flowering is indoors):- http://www.celtlore.co.uk/garden/MusaVelutina.jpg Is the picture misleading perhaps? Is it maybe not what it is sold as?

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.