David Hill wrote:

My seed raised Strelitzia both flowered a couple of months ago for the first
time at the age of 6.

Yes, 5 or 6 years old is about right for first time flowering.
Occasionally you might get a 'rogue' that flowers a year earlier, but
you can also get laggards that wait until they are 7 or 8 years.
They're a total pain - I once had 6 out of a batch of 20 do that.

I think this was helped by having been in a glasshouse last summer, and not
getting a great deal of water, so they dried often and really cooked, this
must have ripened them.

I have a 'youngster', which was planted outside in a south facing
border 2 years ago. It flowered in late September - no doubt
encouraged by the heat and light intensity earlier. It was watered
heavily and fed regularly however, so I don't reckon that drying out
is a trigger. It seems to be growing stronger than ever this year and
no doubt appreciates the humus enriched, very sharply drained mud
stone that I have to cope with. It does not get direct, overhead sun
- due to a light canopy formed by a tangle of Plumbago auriculata and
Jasminum polyanthum. Despite being South African in origin, my plant
can scorch badly and appears to prefer light shade.

Now I am wondering when they will start to throw "Pups" and become clumps
rather than single plants.

Based upon plants I've grown in the past, suckers usually start to
appear a year or two after first flowering. A 10 year old will often
have a couple of decent growths and a 12 year old that has been grown
well will have several that are of flowering size. If you have the
patience, they can be brilliant plants and are very easy to grow.
They become extremely large however and eventually have to be split.
You need a good saw to get through the roots and rhizomes!

Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November
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