In article ,
Terry Perrett wrote:
Hi can anyone tell how to grow these things. I brought some seeds back from
spain about 9 years ago, it has grown steadily to about 4 ft high, 2 years
ago I had 1 flower for the first time and since then nothing at all.
I over winter it in a conservatory and keep it dry, I have tried feeding it
some years and ignoring it others but I must be doing something wring. My
sister who lives about 10 miles away gets hers to flower every year.
Any advice from you experts out there?

My guess is that you have been unlucky. Plants grown from seed are
variable, and it might be a poor flowerer. I am no expert, but it
sounds as if you are treating it correctly.

I assume that it is in very well-drained compost, somewhat pot-bound,
and you feed only in summer and not with too much nitrogen.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hi can anyone tell how to grow these things. I brought some seeds back from
spain about 9 years ago, it has grown steadily to about 4 ft high, 2 years
ago I had 1 flower for the first time and since then nothing at all.
I over winter it in a conservatory and keep it dry, I have tried feeding it
some years and ignoring it others but I must be doing something wring. My
sister who lives about 10 miles away gets hers to flower every year.
Any advice from you experts out there?

On 20 Apr 2005 22:15:05 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

~In article ,
~Terry Perrett wrote:
~Hi can anyone tell how to grow these things. I brought some seeds back from
~spain about 9 years ago, it has grown steadily to about 4 ft high, 2 years
~ago I had 1 flower for the first time and since then nothing at all.
~I over winter it in a conservatory and keep it dry, I have tried feeding it
~some years and ignoring it others but I must be doing something wring. My
~sister who lives about 10 miles away gets hers to flower every year.
~Any advice from you experts out there?
~
~My guess is that you have been unlucky. Plants grown from seed are
~variable, and it might be a poor flowerer. I am no expert, but it
~sounds as if you are treating it correctly.
~
~I assume that it is in very well-drained compost, somewhat pot-bound,
~and you feed only in summer and not with too much nitrogen.
~
And you keep it in bright light? They like direct sunlight. I can't
help your specific problem as I've only just had my 4-year-old flower
for the first time and am currently waiting for it to grow a seedpod
as I hand-pollinated it. Because of this, I don't expect it to flower
next year.

Though I have just acquired two other cultivars of BoP ( S. Reginae
Mandela's Gold and S. Reginae juncea) which were sown on Sunday!


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

Hi there, from what you have suggested it would appear that I might not have
been feeding it enough. It resides in well lit conservatory during the
winter but does live outside when the better weather comes. Will be kind and
feed it more regularly.
Thanks
"Terry Perrett" wrote in message
...
Hi can anyone tell how to grow these things. I brought some seeds back
from
spain about 9 years ago, it has grown steadily to about 4 ft high, 2 years
ago I had 1 flower for the first time and since then nothing at all.
I over winter it in a conservatory and keep it dry, I have tried feeding
it
some years and ignoring it others but I must be doing something wring. My
sister who lives about 10 miles away gets hers to flower every year.
Any advice from you experts out there?

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 19:26:10 +0100, Dave Poole
wrote:

~Terry Perrett wrote:
~
~Hi can anyone tell how to grow these things. I brought some seeds back from
~spain about 9 years ago, it has grown steadily to about 4 ft high, 2 years
~ago I had 1 flower for the first time and since then nothing at all.
~
~If it flowered once, it should flower regularly.
~
~I over winter it in a conservatory and keep it dry, I have tried feeding it
~some years and ignoring it others but I must be doing something wring.
~
~Ah, now we're getting to it. Strelitzia reginea does best if kept in
~good light, but not direct sun through glass, which can burn the
~leaves. It needs plenty of moisture when actively growing in summer
~(compost should be very sharply drained) and appreciates a balanced
~feed every 3 - 4 weeks from May to the end of September. If you like,
~you can switch to a high potash (tomato) feed for the latter part of
~the summer - this will encourage flower production, In winter, it is
~best kept cool and on the dry side. Strelitzia tolerates light frost
~(I grow mine outside here in Torbay) and is very happy at temps
~between 5 - 10C. Above this (such as in a stuffy, centrally heated
~room), any incipient flower buds can be aborted - especially in the
~typically, extremely low light levels of a UK home during winter.

I keep mine in direct sun and it seems to really like it. In summer my
C. gets to 40C and very high humidity (until I get home and open the
doors!) and it seems to thrive.

OK admittedly the direct sunlight is through polycarbonate, which is
slightly diffuse compared with normal glass. Though it gets direct
oblique light early morning and late afternoon through the glass
sides.

~You might consider giving your plant fresh compost - now is about the
~right time. Don't use multi-purpose, it simply does not have enough
~body or nutrients to support a strong growing plant for more a month
~or so. The ideal mixture is a combination of JI No2 and perlite
~(approximately 10 - 15% by volume of perlite). This will give you a
~free draining, well-aerated, long lasting compost that will satisfy
~the needs of your plant. The base of the new pot should be well
~crocked and have plenty of drainage holes - the more the better. Make
~sure that the base of the plant is just below finished compost level
~(about 1 -2 cms) to encourage the production of new roots, which
~develop from immediately below the oldest leaves on a gradually
~ascending rhizome.

Heh. I'd love to repot at the moment but the darn roots have grown out
the bottom of the current pot and I'll have to cut if off... yet
again.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

Hi Terry,

Had you repotted the plant after the last flowering? I have just read from
the 'Gardener's World' April 2005 issue (p.82, Martin Fish) that
"These plants flower much better when their roots are restricted, so avoid
growing them in too large a container. Ideally, buy an established plant
and keep it in frost-free conditions during winter."

I hope the information can be helpful.

With regards,
CK from Aberystwyth

In article ,
Dave Poole writes:
|
| Thank goodness my Strelitzia doesn't get a chance to even glance at
| the Gardener's World magazine. It is planted in a sheltered border
| outside, has to endure light frosts occasionally in winter and manages
| to spread its thick roots for quite a distance. Obviously a bit of a
| maverick like me - it responds by flowering!

As we corresponded before, it can take significant overnight
frosts in Zambia. And, of course, it is planted outside there!
But the soil never freezes and the daytime temperatures are
always warm enough to thaw leaves.

What soil you you grow it in and how much do you feed it?


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hi,

Oh, it seemed that my birthday present was not as good as I thought. Thank
you for your correction!

Though I always enjoys growing things, I am still quite a newbie in
gardening in UK, as I could only have time and space for some pot plants. I
knew nothing about organic gardening, composting three years ago, not
mention companion planting. So I am doing a lot of reading in gardening and
learn from trial and errors. However, as I had been a primary teacher and
then a school-librarian for years, I know I often behave a bit old-fashioned
and sound like a book-worm. I hope my posts within these two months had not
offended anyone.

Back to errors in the magazine, I had not the chance to grow 'Bird of
Paradise' before though I knew it is a pretty plant. I know that I cannot
believe in books completely, that is the main reason I subscribed to this
newsgroup as I found that quite a number of posters are experienced in the
field and very helpful. However, I had emailed the BBC in March, enquiring
where I should report about errors in those books being published by BBC
Books but I got no reply.

Don, Monty, Gardeners' World: gardening from Berryfields, BBC Books, 2005.

P. 160
Bush tomatoes grow to a vigorous bushy size, the fruit all ripen more or
less at once and is harvested. End of story.
(I grew a Garden Pearl and a Gartenperle in a window box last late spring.
After having the first harvest, I pruned them back in August, had a second
harvest in late September. They overwintered well indoor. It seems that the
pot is too small for two but the Garden Pearl is having plenty of green and
red tomatoes at the moment.)

P.160 again
....Stake the cordons very firmly so that ... with about 45kg(10lb) of fruit,
they remain steady.
(45kg is not equal to 10lb)

I can comment about the other content in the book as I do not have (enough)
experience yet.

With regards,
CK from Aberystwyth

CK wrote:
[...]
had emailed the BBC in March, enquiring where I should report
about
errors in those books being published by BBC Books but I got no
reply.
[...]

That's naughty: they should have replied, however non-commitally. But
don't expect any practical response from most mass publishers these
days. Books are marketed like cornflakes -- and by the same people --
as "product", and are not really expected to be read with any great
attention, if at all. At least those who sell cornflakes want you to
buy another packet of exactly the same thing, but how often does
anybody buy more than one copy of the same book? As often as not, by
the time a correction gets into the system, the book will be out of
print or the person in charge will have left the company, or both: so
there's nobody who needs to take responsibility, and so nowhere to
send the correction. Very often, the editor won't have been on the
staff of the publisher at all, but doing the job on contract.

--
Mike.

"CK" wrote in message
...
...

about errors...
P.160 again
...Stake the cordons very firmly so that ... with about 45kg(10lb) of
fruit,
they remain steady.
(45kg is not equal to 10lb)

Are you sure there isn't a decimal point between the 4 and 5? Like 4.5kg.


--
Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro-society.freeserve.co.uk/ Wessex
Dorset UK Astro Society's Web pages, Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.

Hi Graham,

Of course I know that it should be 4.5kg instead of 45kg. That was one of
the error I would like to point out to the publisher. It seemed that the
proof reading had not been done properly.

With regards,
CK from Aberystwyth