2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Strelitzia (Latin Strelitzia) Is a flowering plant representing the Strelitziaceae family. Its second name is bird of paradise.
Description
Strelitzia is an evergreen rhizome perennial, the height of which can vary from one and a half to ten meters. Its thickened roots seem to be very powerful, but in fact they are quite fragile.
Large oval leaves of strelitzia are painted in dark green tones and reach from thirty centimeters to two meters in length and from ten to eighty centimeters in width. These huge leaves are somewhat reminiscent of banana leaves, but their petioles are much longer - their length often reaches fifty to sixty centimeters.
Strelitzia flowers up to fifteen centimeters in diameter are invariably located in extremely unusual horizontal inflorescences. And these inflorescences are very similar to colorful bird heads! Perhaps that is why the inhabitants of Africa, where this magnificent plant came to us, call it "crane"! Bizarre flowers appear from the navicular, pointed coverts: two arrow-shaped petals of these flowers are painted purple, and all the other petals of strelitzia are orange. This amazing plant begins to bloom with the onset of spring, and its birds - representatives of the Nectarniciaceae family - pollinate it.
The genus of this plant has only five independent species, and all of them are surprisingly beautiful!
Where grows
South Africa is considered to be the main habitat of strelitzia.
Usage
This noble regal flower will look great in all kinds of bouquets and compositions, as well as in a wide variety of arrangements. In the cut, this beauty can stand up to two weeks, and strelitzia is often used as a dried flower - and in this hypostasis it also has no equal!
Strelitzia is also often grown indoors, however, for these purposes, royal strelitzia is mainly used. And in countries with a fairly warm climate, it can sometimes be seen in gardens.
Growing and caring
Strelitzia will thrive best on well-drained, neutral nutrient soils.
In summer, strelitzia leaves need frequent spraying, but they need to be sprayed in such a way as to avoid moisture getting on the delicate and vulnerable flower petals. A beautiful plant will not refuse a systematic flow of fresh air - for this it is recommended either to take it out to the balcony, or to pamper it with frequent ventilation of the room.
When buds begin to form on the strelitz, it can neither be rearranged nor rotated. Flowering plants should be fed alternately with organic matter and mineral fertilizers, trying to do this every three weeks. And in order to avoid damage by rot, destructive for strelitzia, wilted flowers should be removed as soon as possible.
Strelitzia has one very interesting feature - its unblown flowers can be opened with your hands!
Young specimens should be transplanted annually with the onset of spring, and transplanting will be sufficient for adult plants once every two to three years, but the top layer of the substrate is still recommended to be renewed annually in this case. Strelitzia reproduces mainly by dividing the bushes. It is quite permissible to propagate it by seeds (however, they quickly lose their germination capacity - literally after six months, and plants grown in this way generally begin to bloom only after four years) or by lateral offspring.
