Strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise flower)

Strelitzia reginae , also known as the bird of paradise flower or king Strelitzia, is primarily known as a cut flower.

It grows as an underground rhizome from which, in a dense clump, grow leaves up to 1 meter long, resembling banana leaves. These are borne on 1 to 1.5 meter long stems and are held upright. It can flower when it reaches a total height (stem + leaf) of about 1.8 meters. However, the typical flowering size is more like 2 to 2.5 meters. Anyone who can provide it with this much space will be richly rewarded! The flowers are spectacular. The inflorescences bear a long, boat-shaped, leathery bract at their end, from which the flowers emerge. They have six petals, the outer ones orange and the inner ones light blue. When the flowers have fully emerged from the bract, the entire inflorescence resembles the head of a tropical bird, hence the name.

With young plants, people often place plastic imitations of these flowers, or even actual cut flowers, in the pot to suggest that these small plants are already blooming. This is definitely not the case. Anyone wanting a flowering bird of paradise needs plenty of light and space, but surprisingly little patience, as it grows exceptionally quickly under good conditions. The young plants offered here can become flowering specimens in 2 to 3 years!

You will receive a young plant, approximately 40 to 50cm tall in a 12cm pot.