This is in our campus greenhouse. I worked in here last year too, but students over the summer lost the key and many plants died (summer heat with zero watering for a month was catastrophic). I'm glad this survived, even if it's still a little crispy looking. And I know it's too big for the pot but I don't have anything bigger.
by Kayastorme
1 Comment
Congratulations! I am so happy for you – that is awesome!! The amount of work to get them bloom outside of nature cannot be underscored enough. Shame about the other plants, but it’s great that these survived and bloomed!
My understanding is as long as you don’t overwater them or expose them to too much cold, they’re darn near indestructible. They just might never bloom for you. They’re from Southern Africa originally where long dry spells aren’t unheard of.
I always wanted one but had resigned myself to not getting one because they’re expensive and completely impossible to culture correctly in my location so I figured it would be a waste of money. Then Costco randomly had one for $20 and I figured I would roll the dice (same as yours, strelitzia reginae). They’re pretty ideal for living in a greenhouse.
The upside in your situation is they have super succulent roots that can survive a surprisingly long amount of time without water. But that’s also why if you overwater them they get SO dramatic because those succulent roots are easily damaged by too much water. Like, overwater once and leaves will start turning yellow (ask me how I know, haha).