Strelitzia

(Bird of Paradise) Reginae

Picture your terrace in July: a bold fan of glossy, blue-green paddle leaves, and a few years on, orange and blue blooms that look like the crest of a tropical bird. That's Strelitzia reginae, the bird of paradise from South Africa, and this young green friend is a lovely way to grow your own. Give it some room: it reaches about 150 cm tall and 80-100 cm wide, so plan on 1 per large pot, or 1 per square metre in a sheltered, frost-free spot. Young plants like this one need a few sunny years before they flower, usually between late winter and spring, so for now the leathery evergreen foliage does the talking. Set it on a sunny patio all summer, and let it move indoors for winter. Seasonal changes can affect how it arrives, but don't expect flowers just yet.

Give it the sunniest spot you have, ideally out of strong wind, which tends to shred those big leaves. Use airy, well-draining soil, in the ground or in a pot with drainage holes, because the thick roots rot in soggy conditions. Water generously in summer and let the top few centimetres dry out in between; in pots the soil dries out much faster, so check it often. It needs hardly any pruning: just cut old or damaged leaves off at the base. It is not winterhard, so bring it inside before the first frost, or when nights drop towards 5 °C, and keep it bright and cool at around 8-15 °C with only a little water. Once spring nights stay mild it can go back outside, and that cool winter rest helps it flower later on.

Your order will be hand picked and packed in our strong and sustainable packaging as soon as possible, after which it will be delivered straight from our greenhouse to your door by your chosen carrier. You can follow the journey of your plants via the tracking link you receive in your mail. If you have any questions regarding your order and its shipment, you can get in contact with our support team.

We expect every order to arrive in tip-top shape. We take intensive care of the plants in our greenhouse and use special and as sustainable as possible protective packaging to ship our plants. We also wrote an extensive blog about how to unpack and prepare your plants for growth after shipping. However there are rare occasions where our plants don’t meet their full potential. That’s why all plants are guaranteed for 30 days after arrival, if still in its original nursery pot.