Strelitzia juncea

No idea why I did it (because I already have a flowering sized S.reginea that I grew from seed) but today I ordered seed for the Leafless Bird of Paradise (S.juncea).................


Has anyone grown this and got any tips? Said to bloom in three to four years from seed.

 

Long I`m really jealous , saw one of those at Will Giles garden and look like a plant from a different plantet , just saw a strelizia in the shop today , it was £36 , I was tempted to buy just for the flower that are forming on it

 

If there are any spares going begging if they germinate I'll be sharing. I'm hoping that the care regime will be the same as the common one.

 

Seeds arrived a couple of days ago. They came with a bag of saltpetre and detailed instructions. Fingers crossed..................

 

Never grown it Longk, but I tend to think it need similar conditions to S.regiae.

Must admit to being tempted to buy seeds of "Mandella Gold", in the past, but managed to resist up to now.

 

Me too, but I do feel that it's hard to improve upon the classic colour combo.............

 

That was exactly my thoughts, maybe if I lived somewhere where they were on every street corner I'd be looking for that slightly different colour combination, but as it stands I wonder if its worth the effort.

 

Gods honest truth - the leaves on my S.reginaea have never been great which is why I'm trying the "leafless" form!

 

Its not a plant that is worth growing for the leaves, they just last so long, maybe four or five years, they get quite beaten up in that time.
Even new ones come through distorted, I find, when a crown is dividing, and then you are stuck with them for a few years.

So I get your point.

 

That's where mine is at. Also, it's almost in bloom with two stems!

 

I have grown Strelitzia a few times from seed.

Soak them for a day or two before sowing and keep quite warm when sowed.

3 or 4 years to flowering...... Very optimistic!

 

Btw, when they germinate, they will have leaves. Only the adult leaves will look like the one in the photo.

 

I've grown S.reginaea from seed - that was seven years from seed to bloom (exactly as the packet said!).

 

I would have said 7 years is more realistic.

 

Those are my thoughts, but different species different results maybe.............