Perennials, Tropicals > Strelitzia > Strelitzia nicolai > Strelitzia nicolai
Strelitzia nicolai
White Crane Flower, White Bird of Paradise, Giant Crane Flower, Giant Bird of Paradise
Origin: Native to South Africa.
| Family |
| Strelitziaceae |
| Genus |
| Strelitzia |
| Species |
| nicolai |
| Category |
| Perennials, Tropicals |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 9-11 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| Requires cold season protection under glass. |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1c-H3 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| -6.7-10 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 20-50 |
| Height |
| 9 m |
| Spread |
| 3-4 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Landscape |
| Used in a container, as a specimen, tropical or accent plant. |
| Cultivation |
| Can tolerate full sun or shade but prefers rich, acidic soil; does not tolerate overly wet soils. |
| Shape |
| Grows upright and in clumps. |
| Growth |
| Slow |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Centennial Conservatory, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Harry P. Leu Gardens, Orlando, Florida, United States of America. |
| Propagation |
| Propagated by seed or division. Germination takes 2-3 months. Division needs to be done in late spring to early summer. |
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