Where is a good place to purchase a heliconia? I've never looked for one, but have decided I "must" have one since the blooms are so cool. Leaves are reminiscent of a BOP. At least I think so. :>) Are they common at garden centers, or are they pretty much from mail order? And the best place??
Heliconia
In your area I doubt they'd be very common at garden centers. Worth checking if you have a place that sells a lot of tropicals, but most likely mail order will be your best bet. Here are some mail order sources: http://davesgarden.com/products/ps/search.php?search_text=heliconia&submit=Search
Ouch............they are expensive. LOL
Anna, you're right, those are terrible prices.
Down here in Florida Heliconias are pretty common garden plants. A few types are stocked at places like Home Depot and Lowe's in the spring/summer. Our local Wal-Mart nursery dept. had them last year as well - 3 gal. pots of the dwarf Heli's with orange flowers for $9.95. They grow about 2' tall. Sure beats $10.95 for a 2.5" puny little start from Logee's! Some of those fancy Heli's grow 5 feet tall.
You might want to see if you can get a nursery manager to order some plants for you. They'd certainly be more affordable than those outrageous prices online and you'd get a nice big start.. You wouldn't have the wide choice, though. Another thought - there's a DG member named HollyAnnS who is from Dover PA and she contributes quite often to the Tropicals thread. You could d-mail her directly and ask her where she gets her tropicals from up there in PA. She posted a day or two ago on the Tropical Gardens #99 thread.
Are you going to keep them in a greenhouse in winter? They can't take any freezing temps. Mine have died to the ground the last two (record cold) winters, although they do come back.
Yes, I have a large g'house.
And I am going to a large g'house/garden center close by that has LOTS of stuff next week.........perhaps they have one. Another plant I am looking for is the allemanda "Cherries Jubilee"..........saw them growing all over the resort in Mexico. Logees has that, but I know it will be small............and a little more than I want to pay for that small of a plant.
This message was edited Apr 30, 2011 4:27 PM