Monday, August 11, 2008

Heleconia


Heleconia, originally uploaded by Mark Andrew Photos.

I love this flower (Heleconia). I used it in a couple of beds for a customer this year. I also kept a couple for myself, but, sadly, grasshoppers have enjoyed the leaves of one :(

It had a rough start this May after I received them from Florida. After they (Sixteen 8" pots) arrived at the beginning of May our temperatures turned chilly. All of the tropical plants I had ordered did fine (quite a shock compared to the temps in Florida) with the cooler nights (40's I believe) and days (50's-60's), but the Heleconia plants did NOT. I should have probably taken them to a local garden center and placed them in one of their greenhouses that they let me use during the late winter and spring. I'll use Heleconia again next year, but probably not this dwarf variety and I'll definitely put them into a greenhouse immediately upon receiving them.

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