Strelitzia nicolai (Giant Bird of Paradise)

very nice Meanie...

It would be if it was the right way up SL!

on it's side it's still impressive !

I saw these in Tenerife a couple of years ago. I'd never seen them before that...yes, absolutely huge...about 5m high and forming a giant fan shape. A really impressive perennial plant! I used to have the more common one in a pot in my conservatory but it just got too darned big to keep!

You should have put the spade through it Karen!

Yes, perhaps, but it was so beautiful and I couldn't bear parting with it....eventually got so fed up with the grief I just put the whole lot in the bin. Thats a bit of a behaviour pattern for me...if it gets 'all too much' for me...I just bin it or destroy it. It always seems such a relief at the time and then later.......regret! lol....when you look at it that way, it's a miracle that my children survived to adulthood!! ;) lol

And here's me with one that is too damn small for my liking!!

Just you wait! :))

I can't wait - that's my trouble!!

lol..mine too! :))

Meanie:

Yes, the petioles and leaves get elongated when they are not grown in full sun. I've seen this happen here in shade...as they very widely grown everywhere in California.

Karen - I'm pretty good if they're worth it though.

Delonix - this is very much in full sun though (admittedly under glass). I'm sure that it must be because they never have to deal with wind. It is also rather pampered I think!

Me too, I've spent the last three days constantly moving my Datura Wrightii seedlings in to the warmest spots! I hope they will be ok in the kitchen window for a week...sure they will be fine....well, 'hope' they will be fine!

Meanie:

I meant intense full hot sun, like we get here in winter.

You have a lot more cloudy days there in winter, than in San Diego.

What sun in winter!!!! It's permanently grey here - that's why we're so pastey faced!!

I heard on the telly this week that Scotland has the lowest Vit. D levels in the WORLD!! That's how bad it is in Scotland!!

Really?
That's rather shocking Karen.

I know!! Not so bad on our East Coast, it is often sunny here for a day or two. But the west of the country is almost always wet when I look on the forecast...or overcast. I just love the highlands, but I could never live there...between the clouds and the midges I would be totally defeated! :)))) I met a check out lady in Asda this week, she was from near Brighton and she was sooooo homesick because it was sunny that day and she said 'it's like this a lot down there' and we both just sighed! :))))

We've just had two days of sun, and the same predicted for the next seven days!!
So nice that the Pleiones are outside full stop for the next few days!

Enjoy...we had coastal fog today...two days of full warm sun always brings it on! :( but tomorrow I am flying to Gran Canaria for a week where it will be sunny and warm (hopefully!) :))

I need to get back to our apartment this year - hopefully the tenants will not renew the lease, but if they do we'll just take the money!
Remember to check the florists out for seeds. You could bring yourself a Strelitzia in the hand luggage too..............

Oh groan...don't make me go through that again meanie! lol ;) I will check them out for seeds though...I might find something a bit more 'compact'! ;))

Go on! You know you want to!!

lol....did you happen to see that programme 'how to grow a planet? My house would become like that oxygen experiment box they set up in the Eden Project Biome! Just enough room for a hammock in amongst the bananas....actually, come to think of it, your house must be like that...pretty much...would you say? lol :))

That's so funny! We cancel the day and want to go back to bed when the sun doesn't shine here in San Diego! lol! :>)

We expect it to be sunny virtually every day of the year! (and I'm not joking).

It was getting that way, but the house move make cause a rethink. Maybe more unusual bulbs I think. Being a listed building there is no chance of a conservatory.

You are soooo spoilt Delonix!!

Delonix...you may think that is funny, but we are not laughing! ;))))))

Meanie...sounds interesting and lovely! :)

Bulbs = great space value! Especially with a cellar to store them in.

Started my Gloriosa off today, and the Hymenocallis. Leaving the Scadoxus until after the move though.

Meanie:

What can I say....I'm very spoiled here in San Diego!

Karensusan63:

I can't help it, it's very funny to me!

We are so spoiled here in inland San Diego...most of the year we have good, warm sunshine!

Hey, I was doing the same thing to my family back here when I was living in Oz!! All good fun (if you're on the right side of the weather)!

Yes, it's all in fun! I've only lived in tropical (Hawai'i) or mild subtropical climates (San Diego and San Francisco [yes, believe-it-or-not SF is in the subtropic zone]) my whole life...I don't know any different. :>)