WHAT'S LOOKING EXOTIC IN 2017

@PeterS I don't know if you remember me going to Kenya several years ago and I put a few (ok many) pics of birds on here.

These were taken behind the Baden Powel museum at the Outspan Hotel.
Variable Sunbird on a Strelitzia.

 

Lovely Strongy - two birds of paradise for the price of one.

 

I've even seen strelitzia for sale in Wilkinsons - they sometimes have fairly random plants for conservatories... I must try growing from seed again - even the seeds are interesting with their tuft of orange hairs

 

That amazes me

 

I reckon Strelitzias are one of the most common plants for sale. If you want the challenge of growing them on. Our Wilkinsons has had them for £2.99, B&Q's were a little larger at £3.50.

I personally wouldn't bother with them though. I've got one which is 15 yrs old stands about 5 ft high, 5 ft wide and has 27 leaves and has never flowered.

PS... It's just done something I've never seen before. A couple of weeks ago it had a nice big " bud "coming and I got all excited because I thought it was going to flower. Then the " bud " started to unfurl into 2 leaves growing together. I've only ever had one leaf at at a time before.

 

Hi @KFF maybe you are treating it too well? Mine wasn't fed very much (if at all) and flowered reasonably frequently till I killed it. Perhaps change to a tomato feed to encourage flowering?

 

Hi @CarolineL , I've only been feeding it about once a month and always use tomato feed. I give it a good water and then leave it till it's almost dry before watering again. It's in a tub about 14 inches wide. ( it looks like two plants but is only one ).

 

Hi @KFF - that sounds sensible treatment - maybe it's just slow to mature (like me)

 

Oh, you have started this before mine has begun flowering this year, but I'd just like to add my two pennyworth regarding the flowers.

I think if you look at the pic posted by @strongylodon, the bird needs to actually perch on the blue part of the flower, as it does, this part divides in two exposing the pollen to the birds feet, the bird then moves on to another plant, and flower, where the pollen get deposited onto the spike at the end of the blue part.

I'm sorry @PeterS but I dont quite understand that statement, I've not noticed the flowers getting bigger from one year to the next

Mine does do a strange thing though, it produces two flowering "beaks" from a single flower spike.
2015 pictures.

What I would call the standard flower in the foreground, and the "double" behind.

 

Aloe striatula

 

Second flower open now.

 

Hi Nigel, love that Aloe .

 

As you know Pete - my greatest talent is in "cut and paste" rather than gardening - so I can't answer your point. But its interesting that you haven't noticed that effect - unless you include your "two for the price of one".

 

Oleander.

 

Lovely Strongy - did you grow these from seed? I sowed some seed in 2014, but they still seem to be a long way from flowering.

Fairly poisonous I understand.