Third flower in early bloom.
Second flower in full bloom.
Very first flower past its prime.
To me, this is a wonderful milestone in the garden since we've been waiting for so long for this moment to arrive. At last it's here! And there are still young flower buds waiting for their time to shine.
Then another promising development. I recently received a text message that it looks like the second Bird of Paradise is forming a flower bud. It's too early to tell if it's indeed a flower bud or just another leaf, but Mom believes its going to be a bud. So here we are, looking forward to another glimpse of paradise in late May or early June.
Visit Hope Grows Day: May 2011 meme to meet other hopeful gardeners.
11 comments:
Oh that is stunning! I could never grow a Bird of Paradise up north here...but I do love them. Just beautiful, and congratulations on getting some blooms!
Oh I cant wait for mine to flower - it must be a wet season/summer flowering plant, so maybe mine will flower in about six months. The plant is now about 3 years old.
Oh, so beautiful! We are not tropical enough in climate to bring one to bloom, but the one I put in the ground last summer that I thought died has put out a beautiful new leaf.
Your Bird of Paradise is so beautiful. Many years ago, I had one as a houseplant, but I was never graced with a flowering.
Strelitzia reginae flower is always a wonderful sight. That first photos is lovely. I am glad your garden is now starting to show you its pride, at least you can see them in photos. Phil of digitalbotanicgarden.com has it also now in its post, he takes wonderful photos. It is in my sidebar.
The Birds of Paradise look gorgeous in your paradise. I wonder why there are so many types of heliconia here but no Bird of Paradise. Is it harder to grow compared to the other types?
Hello Hanni,
Thanks. Maybe you can try growing it indoors and during the summer you can bring it out.
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Hello Africanaussie,
If yours is already three years old its probably due to bloom. I read that it takes at least 3 years before it flowers. I'm sure you'll be very happy too when you see it bloom.
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Hello NellJean,
Its good to know your Bird of Paradise sprouted back to life. This is a South African plant, it is probable that it can bloom also in your area.
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Hello Sage Butterfly,
Thanks. Even with the foliage alone this plant is already worth growing. It's good in floral arrangements too. The flower is just an icing on the cake.
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Hello Andrea,
Thanks, I'll check Phil's site. The original garden a.k.a. 'nursery' has been so generous so far. From there we were able to propagate plants for the other areas in the farm.
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Hello One,
Thanks. Even in the Philippines the Heliconias are a more common sight than Bird of Paradise. Maybe because Heliconias are easier to take care of, can thrive in neglect, and multiply fast. Funny, local garden stores call them "False Bird of Paradise".
From what I've read with Bird of Paradise, everytime you transplant it, you have to wait years before it flowers again.
Here, many people grow the false bird of paradise i.e. heliconias. I guess it is more difficult to grow the stretlizias. Yours are really special!
woah...so that's the real 'birds of paradise'...now i know..:)
Congratulations! The flowers are gorgeous. Plus you have more to come. So exciting!
Hello Autumn Belle,
I think its not that Strelizias are more difficult to grow. Maybe many give up easily since its a slow grower and much slower to produce flowers. Very sensitive too, I read that if you transplant it you'll have to wait several years again before it flowers.
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Hello Ely,
Yup that is indeed the real one :) Many in our country still thinks its just the same as the upright heliconias.
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Hello Bom,
Thanks. We're waiting for the second plant to bloom too. It looks very promising.
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