Costa Rica - Heliconias

It's about twenty years since we went there. Flights only, buses from the west coast to east coast and never felt threatened at all (unlike London, Miami, parts of Chicago, Johannesburg big style). Great place to visit but sadly I had no interest in gardening then.

H.velerigera and H.mariae look fantastic Peter!

Nice! H.rostrata can only grow to about five metres

 

Excellent John - I look forward to hearing how they do. I believe that, for us - without the right climate, it's quite difficult to get rhizomes back into growth. I certainly killed an H. bihai rhizome that I got from Thailand.

Himalayan Gardens was not expensive, but other sources on the internet can be very expensive. Not just for the rhizome, they can also charge up to £20 postage.

I don't think Costa Rica is any worse than any other third world country. All the people we met were very friendly, but in towns and around "rich" tourists, there will always be temptation for some people.

Strongy. I never saw any Heliconias in Madeira either. I think it isn't hot enough - a minimum of 16C in winter is pretty demanding.