Bird of Paradise
(Strelitzia reginae)
Category: Perennial
Light: Full Sun
Soil: Loam
Water: Moderate
Height: 6' Width 2-3'
Color: Orange/Medium Blue
Bloom Time: Mid-spring thru summer
Comments: Bloom gives the appearance of a bird's head
More Information HERE:
Named for its unique flower, the bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae) resembles the head of a brightly-colored tropical bird. This variety is called the crane flower.
It is a slow-growing, evergreen perennial native to southern Africa, but I have had success with it in my own garden setting in pots.
This variety develops slowly by division of its underground stem with a trunkless, clump-forming growth pattern.
The mature clump stands 4 to 5 feet high and spans 3 to 5 feet in width. Leaves are about 6 inches wide and 18 inches long, rising from the clump in a fan-like pattern.
The flower, with its pointed "beak," blooms with an orange, purple and blue crown on the head of the bird.
A stalk holds one to three flowers, each with three orange sepals and three blue petals enclosing the stamen and style.
Winter pruning should be avoided as old leaves help protect it against the cold; it can be damaged at 28 degrees F.
**Another variety is Strelitzia nicolai, known as the giant bird-of-paradise, resembling the traveler's palm, but is smaller in size and span.
It can reach a height of 15 feet or more and has flowers in white with blue tongues.
More flowers are produced when the plant grows in full sun; however, the leaves are darker green when it is grown in light shade.
It thrives in most any rich soil with good drainage and is salt tolerant.
Victoria County Master Gardener Association
