Strelitzia

[Brengirl]

I've noticed a few times on other forums where a certain plant or something is mentioned then someone new joins, makes a post saying something along the lines of 'Oh I love peonies/strelitizias/salvias... but haven't got any/can't afford them/ sold all mine for charity/lost mine etc.' , gets offered some seeds/cuttings by someone & then disappears off into the sunset never to be heard from again. Not very nice! Also if someone openly offers seeds for a swap they make one post, then ask for the seeds then b*gger off again!

I hear you mention Strelitzia. I brought seeds back from Tenerife yonks ago. They have been inside/outside and back inside. Healthy plants but how to you recognise when they are thinking about flowering?

[SueA]

I've no idea Brengirl but it takes years for them to flower & I think they have to get quite large before they do. I grew a couple of plants from seed & they seemed to stay tiny for a couple of years then grew a little, I repotted them & put them outside for summer a few years ago where one popped it's clogs because I forgot to bring it in before the first frost & the other survived but hasn't grown much since. I think you just have to be patient ( I'm sure I sowed them about 7 or 8 years ago now!)

[Brengirl]

I've no idea Brengirl but it takes years for them to flower & I think they have to get quite large before they do. I grew a couple of plants from seed & they seemed to stay tiny for a couple of years then grew a little, I repotted them & put them outside for summer a few years ago where one popped it's clogs because I forgot to bring it in before the first frost & the other survived but hasn't grown much since. I think you just have to be patient ( I'm sure I sowed them about 7 or 8 years ago now!)

Most probably that long ago for me also. I will leave my remaining two in the unheated greenhouse this winter. I may give them a bubblewrap coat and wait again to see what happens next year. One of them does appear to have some interesting new growth but you can bet your bottom it is foliage.

[Glutton4...]

A friend of mine grew a Strelitzia, and it took about ten years to flower!

[zazen999]

Bren, I've moved your query to a separate thread - away from the seed swap PM thread.

[frias]

I have one I bought as a seed in Tenerife 30 years ago. It's massive but has never flowered. However 2 years ago I bought 2 small plants in Wilkos and stuck some plastic flowers in with them to show them what they should do. They've grown into huge plants and earlier this year I was amazed to find one of the plants had a real flower. It's only been the one but I'm hoping for more one day.

[Eco-Chic]

Frias, you kill me