Strelitzia

The Strelitzia plant is a type genus of the Strelitziev family. In nature, there are only 5 types of flowers. Exquisite bushes live on the island of Madagascar, as well as in some South African countries. An unusual plant has won the love of flower growers around the world. So the royal strelitzia became the official flower of American Los Angeles, and at home, in South Africa, it is revered as a symbol of freedom.

Strelitzia got its main name in honor of the British Queen Charlotte, who contributed to the creation of the famous Kew Gardens. Even the specific names of these plants are related to monarchs. Strelitzia flower with its outlines resembles a bright tropical bird. This is related to its popular name - "bird of paradise".

Floral designers and bouquets are happy to use strelitzia in their compositions, as it gives a unique flavor and sophistication. Of the five species of this plant, only two of them can be grown at home - Strelitzia "Royal" and "Nicholas".

Description of Strelitzia

Strelitzia belongs to the herbaceous evergreens. Its size in the natural environment can be very large - up to 10 m in height, although on average the bushes usually grow only up to 2-3 m.At home, their size does not exceed 2 m.In nature, strelitzia live in forests, but are usually found on spacious plots. Growing this color at home also requires a lot of free space.

Strelitzia has a taproot extending to a great depth. The stems of the bush are almost absent. Rosettes formed from large leaves on thick petioles extend from the root. The leaf blades are oval in shape and can be up to 80 cm wide and up to 2 m long in size. They resemble banana foliage in shape, but differ in longer petioles. The leaves are colored in shades of green and have pronounced veins.

During flowering, the plant forms a long peduncle, on which there is an inflorescence that resembles a bird's crest. It is placed horizontally on the peduncle. It contains orange, bluish, blue or purple flowers up to 20 cm in diameter. Each peduncle can form about 7 flowers, while on each bush several such peduncles can form at once. This significantly prolongs the flowering period and can last for about six months. Small birds feeding on nectar are engaged in pollination of flowers. At home, to obtain seeds, inflorescences are artificially pollinated. It takes about a month to set fruits with seeds, and they will ripen for about six months.Each capsule contains no more than 8 black seeds, partly covered with a bright breeder that attracts birds.

At home, strelitzia can bloom several times a year, but for this, the bush must be properly looked after. At the same time, bird flowers can also be used for cutting. In the form of a bouquet, they can delight the eye from a couple of weeks to a month.

Brief rules for growing strelitzia

The table shows brief rules for caring for an arrow at home.

Features of the flower! Strelitzia juice contains poisonous substances.

Home care for strelitzia

Strelitzia is not very demanding in care, so it is relatively easy to grow it at home.

Lighting

Diffused light is best suited for strelitzia, so the bush should be kept on a window on the east or west side of the house. But direct rays should not fall on it. On the southern windows, the plant is shaded.

Strelitzia is a large, spreading plant that needs a lot of space for full development when grown indoors. In order for the foliage of the bush to retain its fan-shaped position, when moving the pot to a new place, the direction of lighting should be maintained. You should not rotate the flower pot for uniform foliage development - so the plates may begin to curl.

Temperature

Strelitzia is thermophilic and the entire growing season develops well at normal room temperatures in the range of 20-25 degrees. In summer, the pot with the plant can be taken out to the balcony or garden. But for a tropical "bird" only a place well protected from wind and bright sun is suitable. Changes in day and night temperatures will help the bush to bloom.

In winter, when the rate of development of the bush slows down, it should be kept cool (no more than 14-16 degrees). These conditions are also conducive to future flowering. In a too cool room, the roots of the plant should be insulated by placing the pot on polystyrene or wrapping it with something.

Watering mode

In spring and summer, strelitzia bushes are watered moderately, but often enough. The soil in the container should remain slightly damp at all times. In this case, overflow should be avoided. Constant stagnation of water at the roots can lead to the development of diseases.

Well-settled or filtered water at room temperature is best suited for irrigation. In winter, when the flower is kept cool, the frequency of watering should be reduced. At this time, you can moisten the soil in the pot about once a decade. If the flower continues to winter in the room, water and humidify the air next to the strelitzia as usual.

Humidity level

The air humidity near the arrow should be slightly increased. To make the plant easier to tolerate summer heat and drought, its leaves during this period can be wiped off with a damp cloth or periodically sprayed. Regularly rubbing the foliage will also help to remove dust from them. It is advisable to carry out these procedures in the morning so that the leaves have time to dry before nightfall.

The soil

The ideal potting mix for growing Strelitzia should be fertile, lightweight, and equal parts peat, leafy and soddy soil. It is recommended to add a small amount of charcoal to the drainage layer. You can buy soil mixture with good aeration and in retail chains. You can use the most common soil for indoor plants and flowers.

Top dressing

Strelitzia growing at home can be fed throughout the entire period of development and flowering. The optimal fertilizing schedule is once every 10 days. For this, organic and mineral compositions can be used alternately. When the plant fades, it begins a dormant period, and they take a break for 2-3 months in feeding.

Before moving the flower pot into the cool, you should cut off all the old flower stalks from it. An exception is made only for pollinated specimens.

Transfer

Regular transplants have a good effect on the development of young strelitzia. They are moved to new pots every year in the spring. Older specimens no longer need such frequent transplants. Due to the fragility of the roots, it is better not to disturb the strelitzia without the need. Usually, mature shrubs are moved about once every 3-5 years. The need for transplantation can be judged by the condition of the plant roots. When its sufficiently powerful rhizomes cease to fit in a pot, they begin to develop in a spiral and work like a spring. Because of this, a clod of earth together with a flower can literally start falling out of the container, tilting the plant to the side.

During transplantation, the plant must be pulled out of the pot along with a lump of earth. For this procedure, a loose and fertile soil is preliminarily prepared. It can include sand, humus, peat, leafy soil and sod. A fairly tall pot is suitable for strelitzia. For small plants, you can use plastic models, and for adults and heavy ones, more weighty ceramic ones are suitable. A good drainage layer must be laid on the bottom of the container. A little fresh soil is poured over it, and then a soil clod with a plant is placed on top. The voids are carefully covered with earth, trying to compact it evenly.

If a diseased plant is transplanted, its roots should be examined. They are cleaned of old soil, the affected areas are cut off and the cuts are treated with crushed coal. Only then can the bush be transplanted into another pot.

While the plant remains in the old container, you can periodically replace the top few centimeters of soil in it. To prevent the strelitzia from falling apart as the foliage grows, circular supports are usually used.

Why does strelitzia not bloom

Tufted flowers begin to form only on adult strelitzia not younger than 4 years old. An important role is played by a sufficient amount of light, large foliage, as well as compliance with the conditions during the dormant period. If even after this the plant refuses to bloom, you can try to activate the bud formation process artificially.

In this case, a temperature difference is created for the plant. The pot with it is taken out to a frost-free balcony or a cool veranda, where it is kept at about 11 degrees. Watering the soil in a pot should be rare. After a month of such "hardening" the bush is returned to its usual conditions, making sure that it is well lit. You can additionally feed the plant with a composition for flowering species. Some time after this procedure, the strelitzia should bloom. But after the formation of the buds, it is no longer worth rearranging the flower pot.

Strelitzia breeding methods

Growing from seeds

Only fresh strelitzia seeds germinate well.Plants can only be propagated with freshly harvested seed. It will be possible to get it at home only with the help of artificial pollination. Sometimes strelitzia seeds are purchased in a store, but they also need to be as fresh as possible: after only six months after harvesting, 9 seeds out of 10 have time to lose their ability to germinate.

Before sowing, the seeds should be kept in warm (up to 40 degrees) water for a day, changing it as it cools or using a thermos. After swelling, the seeds are cleaned of fibers. Another way of processing is to hold the seeds in a growth stimulant solution for several hours.

For sowing, a mixture of sand with peat and compost is suitable. It is preliminarily spilled with boiling water, and then placed in small cups (0.25 l) with large (up to 0.5 cm) drainage holes. The soil should be about 2/3 cup soil. On top of it, approximately 2 cm of sand is additionally poured. Each seed is placed in a separate glass, slightly pressing it into the sand so that only the back remains on the surface. After that, the cups are covered with foil and placed in a warm and bright place.

Some gardeners recommend keeping the seeds in the dark, but in any case, you should not expose them to direct rays. Greenhouse conditions continue to be observed until the first leaf appears from the seeds. But its appearance can take a lot of time - from a couple of months to six months. As soon as the seeds germinate, they can be aired by removing the film for about 15 minutes a day.

The sprouts that have formed can be watered as the topsoil dries up. For this, boiled water is suitable. After the young strelitzia grow up, they are transplanted into larger containers. During this procedure, you should be especially careful with the roots of the seedlings. Their damage can lead to a slowdown in growth or even complete death of the plant.

Growing seedlings should be watered not too abundantly and kept in the light. The optimum temperature for their growth is approximately 22 degrees.

Reproduction by dividing the bush

Other methods can be used to reproduce adult strelitzia. Bushes over 6 or 7 years old are often propagated by division. After the strelitzia has faded, its bush should be pulled out of the pot and the young rosettes with roots should be carefully separated from it. The separated parts are planted in pots of suitable volume. The soil for them can be the same as for the seedlings.

Reproduction by vegetative methods allows you to get flowering plants earlier than when sowing seeds.

Diseases and pests

Some harmful insects can settle on strelitzia. If a spider mite attacked the plant, the bush is treated with acaricides. Against the scale insect or mealybug, treatment with Aktara will help. In this case, the procedure should be repeated after 3 weeks.

If the growing conditions are observed, Strelitzia practically does not get sick. The main danger for the plant is the constant waterlogging of the soil. In this case, rot may develop on the roots of the flower.

Yellow foliage can be caused by too low room temperatures or lack of nutrients. Due to dry air, the edges of the leaf plates may begin to dry out. Slow growth of the bush is often associated with a cramped pot.

Types and varieties of strelitzia with photos and names

Royal Strelitzia (Strelitzia reginae)

Or small-leaved strelitzia (Strelitzia parvifolia). One of the most common species in floriculture. Strelitzia reginae lives in the highland forest areas of South Africa. The size of her bush can be up to 2 m in height. Its rosettes are formed by large leathery leaves of rich green color. The length of each leaf reaches 24 cm. Their edges are slightly wavy. The leaves are arranged on long petioles, the size of which reaches 90 cm. There is a greenish-red veil on the peduncle. The flower petals are blue on the inside and orange on the outside. Their size reaches 15 cm. Such a plant blooms twice a year.

At home, the size of the bush is usually no more than 1.5 m. Flowering can occur literally in any season. The species has a smaller hybrid - "Mandela Gold". It has wider foliage.

Strelitzia nicolai

This species was named after one of the sons of Nicholas I, who oversaw the Petersburg Botanical Garden. Strelitzia nicolai is also known as the wild banana. Such strelitzia lives in mountain gorges or forests in the Cape province. It belongs to the arboreal species. The height of such a plant can reach up to 10 m. Its petioles begin to grow stiff over time. During the flowering period, a peduncle is formed in the axils, which has four sheets at once-bedspreads in the form of a bird's beak. They are brownish in color. The petals are white on the outside and blue on the inside. Their length reaches 17 cm.

Due to its impressive size, such a plant is most often found in greenhouses. The flowers of this strelitzia are usually used for cutting.

Mountain Strelitzia (Strelitzia caudata)

This species lives in the very south of Africa and is considered very rare. Strelitzia caudata is also known as the “desert banana”. This strelitzia also belongs to treelike, its height reaches 10 m. The plant is distinguished by a two-row arrangement of large leaves. The flowers are white and have pointed red boat-shaped bracts. Their length reaches 45 cm.

In southern countries, this strelitzia can be grown as a garden plant. In more northern latitudes, it can most often be found in winter gardens.

Strelitzia reed (Strelitzia juncea)

The species lives in the east of South Africa. Strelitzia juncea is unpretentious. This plant tolerates sudden temperature changes, small frosts or long periods of drought. The flowers of this species resemble a royal strelitzia, but its leaves have a narrower shape - this is what the name of the species is associated with. The bush of the plant forms dense rosettes about 2 m in diameter.

Strelitzia Augustus, or white strelitzia (Strelitzia alba)

Another species that lives in the Cape Province. The lower part of the Strelitzia alba shrub begins to grow stiff over time. The plant has large (up to 1 m long) shiny foliage of light green color. It is distinguished by an oval-heart-shaped shape. Peduncles have two bracts and a purple-colored veil. The color of the flowers is white.

This type of strelitzia is commonly used as a garden plant, but it can also be grown as a potted plant. In home floriculture, there is also a hybrid obtained from crossing the white and royal strelitzia.