Strelitzia nicolai (White Crane Flower, White Bird of Paradise, Giant Crane Flower, Giant Bird of Paradise)
Botanical Information
Family | Strelitziaceae |
Genus | Strelitzia |
Species | nicolai |
Category | Perennials, Tropicals |
Origin | Native to South Africa. |
Details
USDA Hardiness Zone | 9-11 |
USDA Hardiness Ref. | |
Canadian Hardiness Zone | Requires cold season protection under glass. |
Canada Hardiness Ref. | |
RHS Hardiness Zone | H1c-H3 |
RHS Hardiness Ref. | |
Temperature (°C) | -6.7-10 |
Temperature (°F) | 20-50 |
Height | 9 m |
Spread | 3-4 m |
Growth | Slow |
Description and Growing Information
Shape | Grows upright and in clumps. |
Landscape | Used in a container, as a specimen, tropical or accent plant. |
Propagation | Propagated by seed or division. Germination takes 2-3 months. Division needs to be done in late spring to early summer. |
Cultivation | Can tolerate full sun or shade but prefers rich, acidic soil; does not tolerate overly wet soils. |
Pests | Grasshoppers, mealybugs, aphids, snails, fig wax scale, false oleander scale, tobacco budworm, giant whitefly, red palm mite, rugose spiraling whitefly or saddleback caterpillar. If planted in overly wet soils it will experience root rot. |
Notable Specimens | Centennial Conservatory, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida, United States of America. |
Habitat | Found in coastal dune vegetation and evergreen forests. |
Bark/Stem Description | The plant is multi-stemmed, woody and smooth. |
Leaf Description | The evergreen, banana-like leaves are alternately arranged, oval and dark green. They grow 1-3 m long with pinnate veins. |
Flower Description | Flowers emerge one at a time from the spathe. They consist of three sepals and three petals, two of which join to form an arrow-like nectary. |
Fruit Description | The capsules are triangular and contain black seeds with orange fuzz. |
Colour Description | Flowers have white sepals and white to blue petals. Leaves are green. Seeds are black to brown in colour with a yellow aril. |