Hello everyone, So sorry I have been lazy with responding to this thread. I hope you all haven't lost interest yet. I had my 2nd back surgery on the 15th and I am still recovering. I was told that I couldn't ride in a car for 1 week and not drive for 2. Well last night it was just getting to me too muc hand I had to get out of the house!! I have to admit, I had good intentions to begin with....a short ride to Walmart where I was just going to stay in the car but then we ended up going to a friends house which really was only about 10 minutes further away from Walmart. We went in and hung out for about 45 minutes. I had a heck of a time trying to fall asleep last night. For some reason not only was I really sore(more so than I had been) but the skin around the incisions felt like it was going to tear open! So, around 7:30am I went intothe bathroom and took a peak in the mirror. I couldn't believe it! It looks like I have a goose egg the size of an orange! It's right on the upper incision. So now I know I over did it and I will have to really lie low until this swelling goes down. All of you guys are awesome people and truly great friends of mine. I just felt bad because I asked for help and your opinions and I didn't want any of you to think I didn't give a crap to check back and see what you all had posted. Hello Toni, Wow I have missed you!! I will get a picture this time around. I promise! Right now the spikes are still small...under 6 inches. They are growing pretty fast now though and I also noticed that the tips of the actual buds are a bright orange which is a good sign that all is well! I mention this because last year my BOP produced 2 spikes but then right before the buds opened, something happened and the buds aborted:( I also wanted to tell you that the original BOP that I got my rhizome from blooms at least 5 or 6 times a year. Now, they also put them outdoors in the spring and leave them there pretty much until fall. Sometimes I have seen them back in the shop by the cash registers. Now how's that for advertising!! Now I know that my BOP would flower more BUT each rhozime will only produce 2 flower spikes(at the size mine is anyhow), so until mine gets larger or produces more offsets, I sadly wont see anymore flower spikes. I know I know, I should just be greatfull and I am trust me! It took me MANY years to get to this point! HEllo Mr. Mike! Please never feel bad for not getting right back to me! You and I are in similiar boats right now and trust me, I know how it feels! Look how long it took me to repond to my own posting LOL!! I would be willing to bet money on this...if you were to come across a blooming BOP and you were able to get it, you would be able to get it to rebloom with no problems!! That's how it was for me anyhow! Now I did mention to Toni that I lost the flowers last year but that was the one and only time that ever happened. When I bought mine I want to say it was somewhere around the summer months of June, July or August. It was at it's full glory right then. Those flowers were spectacular and I couldn't believe how long they lasted! I want to say it was either close to a month or just over a month. Anyhow, after it finnished blooming, I put it oudoors in full sun. I fertilized it with a fert that I had that was comparable to a fert that you would use for banana trees..Toni also had mentioned this to me before..THANKS TONI! Anyhow, that fert was a slow release and then I also gave it the FP. I brought it in for the fall and within a month or 2 guess what! MORE BLOOMS!! I really want to see you succeed with a BOP Mike(all of you, Toni and Laura!). They are so rewarding to me. The tropical foliage is great to have during the cold bleak winter months. If you could find one, BUY IT! I know your going to say that it is a space issue...totally understandable so you know what you do then? Throw out the dud(LMAO!)!! Yeah I know it isn't always easy to do. I had my 1st BOP for well over 10 years and honestly, I got to the point where I started getting angry. I knew I was doing everything right and to see it not blooming, it just made me dissapointed and angry. If you really want one Mike, I can help you locate one. Take care and please take care of that foot! Hi Laura, Like I mentioned above, I will get a picture of it now and then I will get pics of it blooming. Have you ever seen any BOP at your garden centers? I know it would be too cold for them there to live year round. I don't even think they would survive if you protected them with those heat cables. Again, just like I told Mike the secret(to me anyhow) is finding one that is blooming. I will NEVER waste my money(and sanity..LMAO!) on buying a BOP from a grocery store, or anywhere unless it was blooming. I went to Potratz in Erie PA, which is this AWESOME humungous garden center, nursery. They carry all kinds of cool tropicals. In fact, they will even special order just about anything I want for me. One time I was out there and they had an awesome BOP. IT probobly had 6 or 7 rhizomes in one pot. The BOP stood at around 5ft tall. I knew that I didn't have to check out the price tag, I knew they were going to charge an arm and a leg....the price? $300!!!!!!! I couldn't freakin believe it! I thought "Are you kidding me?!" Thankfully I found mine about a year or so later. Thanks again guys for helping me out. Take care and as soon as this swelling goes down, I promise to get a pic. Andrew

Ton2, I am not sure, but have high hopes that they have what you are looking for at jungle seeds, or jungle plants (one sells seeds, one sells plants, same company.)The link below is for jungle PLANTS, Here is jungle seeds:http://www.junglegardens.com/PlantOrders/enter.html Here is a link that might be useful: Jungle PLANTS

I can only comment on the S. reginae - S. juncea question. Back in the 1970s there was a debate in the botanical literature as to whether these should be treated as different species. The American botanist Hal Moore published a paper in the journal Baileya (I can't find the exact reference), arguing for the one-species concept. But a group of South African botanists published a longer paper based on population studies in the wild. My recollection is that populations were spread out in an east-west line in Eastern Cape and adjacent Natal, with 'pure' reginae at one end and juncea at the other, with a zone of intermediates (S. 'reginae var. parvifolia') in the middle. They suggested that this gave support to recognising two separate species, plus a range of hybrid forms. I used to keep a database of such references and am pasting this one below: Van der Venter, H. A., Small, J. G. C. & Robbertse, P. J., 1975. Note on the distribution and comparative leaf morphology of the acaulescent species of Strelitzia Ait. Journal of South African Botany vol. 41, no. 1, 1-16. A follow-up paper looked at the chromosomes and gave some support to the one-species concept. Small, J. G. C., Van der Venter, H. A. & Garner, C. J., 1980. Acaulescent growth forms of Strelitzia: hybridization and chromosome numbers. Journal of South African Botany vol. 46, no. 2, 167-171.

Great photos! They are great plants for a tough spot. We have several and have recently split one up (with a lot of effort) and planted them on a bank near the house so we can see them better. Have you seen the tree version, Strelitzia Nicolai? We have one planted. Spectacular large white and blue flower which unfortunately grows too close to the trunk to be seen well. I'll try and get a photo of it.