By Clarel
I've been successful at growing 8 strelitzia reginae from seed at present they are in 3" pots. When they are established should they be kept to 1 per pot?
On plant
Strelitzia
- 26 May, 2012
Answers
Many thanks for the information. I never expected to have been this lucky having the 8 germinating in two months. I look forward to the flowers, although I have plenty of patience.
26 May, 2012
Definitely as they are extremely vigorous plants. There is no advantage to leaving several in a pot. You must be patient in expecting flowers though, as they need to be quite big in a large pot, and beginning to burst their way out of the pot, before they flower. Many people make the mistake of re-potting as soon as they look to be outgrowing the pot, but they prefer very cramped conditions. Pot on into at least a twelve inch pot as they grow however, and then leave them to develop at that size. Never over pot them so they are in damp soil as in cooler conditions they may rot.
You need to maintain them frost free though they will tolerate cold temperatures during the winter (above freezing) if kept dry.
We had a plant which we kept in a conservatory for at least three years without any flowers. It was only when we moved to France that it made its first flowers, and now it flowers profusely every year in spring, being kept in a frost free, fairly shady, home made conservatory. I am going to split the plant into several finally this summer after leaving them in the same large pot for around seven years!
26 May, 2012