I am discovering that many heliconias can successfully be grown in Zone 9B. This is Oriole Orange and these are but a few--this clump is huge and currently has about 20 blooms.
Heliconia 'Oriole Orange'
Absolutley gorgeous, wish that I could see the whole plant. Thanks for sharing.
Love it! Is this one a clumper or a runner? What other ones do you have and which ones are your favorites? I'm just getting the heliconia bug. LOL
Wow beautiful!!
This wonderful heli gets about 4 feet tall and is a clumping variety. The trick outside of zone 10 is to protect the rhizomes with plenty of mulch and plant in an area with a good windbreak and preferably near a wall.. Expect some freeze back each year, but a blanket tossed over the clump helps. When the new shoots appear in the spring start a regular fertilizer program--I use plain old Miracle-Gro, along with some time released Bloom Booster, granular tossed aroudn the base of the clump around mid-summer.. This variety tends to start blooming in the latest part of summer. The blooms last for several weeks and average 14" tall, with 7-8 bracts. For cut flowers, they are outstanding.
I also have bloomed Red Christmas, Lobster Claw, Red tip Fan, Yellow Fan, Psittacorum, Pedro Ortiz, and Sharonii.
Other plants I am zone testing right now are Jaquinii, Rauliniana, Halloween, Yellow Dancer, and Flash. All of these are currently in their first year and put on significant growth, however I don;t usualy expect blooms until after a full year anyway. They are in a protected area, so I am hoping they fare well with any colder weather that may come...
Failures for this zone as outdoor plantings thus far are " Sexy Pink" (give it up unless you have a good greenhouse), and, Heliconia carribea.
That orange is striking! Great job!
Mine seem to be bothered by the sun- at least that's what I am assuming is the problem. They get just a touch of sun on them and seem to go yellow- does that make sense?