Heliconia parakeetHeliconium (formerly banana) family. Homeland - Central and South America. The family includes only one genus - heliconia, numbering in nature up to 200 species.
At home, Heliconia parrot Heliconia psittacorum is grown, its flowers are very similar to Strelicia, but these are completely different genera and even families.
It is a perennial rhizome plant with a shortened stem. The height of the plant reaches an average of 1.2-1.3 m, no more. The rhizome is underground, horizontal. The leaves are shiny, dark green, large, leathery, 20 to 80 cm long, and up to 20 cm wide. In shape and appearance, the leaves are similar to banana - oblong in shape, with clear venation, bent slightly inward along the central vein. The leaves are arranged on the stem in two rows. The flowers are bisexual, erect, about 5-7 cm long, tubular, yellow or orange, and long bracts (up to 15 cm long), with a black spot in the upper part. The fruit is a box.
Heliconia - home care
Heliconia are all species of very large plants, many of them grow in nature more than one and a half meters, and at home the same giants. Very soon, young plants stop cleaning on the windowsill, they need space: a large pot for the roots, free space for leaves, a lot of light, fresh air, and a support for tying. As you can imagine, in a standard apartment, such conditions are almost impossible to provide. But if you have a large house with an extra 2 meters by the sunny window (better than French), you have the opportunity to take the pot out into the garden for the summer, then you may well grow Heliconia and even see its flowers.
Temperature: Heliconia does not like extreme heat, prefers in summer a temperature not higher than 25 ° C, in winter a moderately cool content at 15-16 ° C. The ideal plant for a warm, light greenhouse or winter garden. In nature, it grows in the sun (in the warm states of the USA), but on the street it is blown by the wind, grows tightly and never overheats, although very often the leaves burn out, curl up from the heat along the central vein, and if not for the beautiful inflorescences, the gileconia bushes are completely not attractive.
Lighting: bright lighting, including some direct sunlight in the morning or evening in March to August, it is advisable to shade only a couple of hours at noon. In good light, flowering can occur throughout the year. In winter, at temperatures above 18 ° C, you need very good lighting - full sun or exposure.
Watering: plentiful from spring to autumn, slightly more moderate in winter. In nature, heliconias grow along river banks and in rain forests, so they grow well only with sufficient humidity. However, swamps in a pot will not be tolerated, in order to avoid waterlogging and dampness, you need to make the right soil
Feeding: a month after transplantation or from March to August is carried out in 2 weeks with complex fertilizers for flowering plants, in doses recommended in the instructions. Heliconium is sensitive to a lack of phosphorus and potassium.
Air humidity: Ideally, humidity should not fall below 50% at temperatures above 20 ° C, so heliconium responds well to spraying. On especially hot days in summer or in dry warm winter, you need to spray at least 3-4 times a day or put a humidifier. In addition, the leaves are periodically wiped with a sponge from dust.
Transplantation: young plants are transplanted annually in spring, adults - after 2 years. The plant grows well and blooms on nutritious, well-drained soil. Use earth mixture: 2 parts of sod earth, 1 part of sheet (or peat) earth, 1 part of vermiculite, 1 part of small gravel chips (or pebbles 3-5 mm). At the bottom of the pot there are a lot of holes and a deep pallet. Drainage layer from 5 to 10 cm (in a large pot) - this landing allows in hot weather to water heliconia quite abundantly, wetting the root lump well.
Reproduction: By dividing the rhizome in spring, when transplanted, or by seeds.
