Caring for Heliconias: Tips for Success

Heliconias are stunning tropical plants that can transform your garden into a lush paradise. With a little care and attention, these fast-growing plants will thrive and reward you with their striking foliage and vibrant flowers. Here’s a guide to ensuring your heliconias remain healthy and flourishing.

Fertilising Heliconias

Heliconias are heavy feeders, so they require a nutrient boost to support their rapid growth. Here’s how to do it right:

I personally use Organic Xtra fertiliser twice a year—in spring and autumn—and after planting. It’s available in landscape supply stores in South East Queensland. It contains several key ingredients which make it a complete fertiliser, including potash, which will encourage flower growth.
Simply scatter the fertiliser on the soil surface. You can be generous, as heliconias benefit from ample nutrients. Be sure to water in well after fertilising, so as to carry the nutrients from the fertiliser down to the root zone. I often prefer to fertilise on days before heavy rain is forecast.
Organic Xtra is particularly effective for tropical plants like heliconias and gingers. It’s available at most landscape supply stores. If Organic Xtra is not available, suitable alternatives are Organic Life or other pelletised organic fertilisers.

Watering Requirements

Once established, they can survive on rainfall in most subtropical or tropical climates, but supplemental watering will always encourage better growth.
Heliconias thrive on plenty of water, so don’t let the soil dry out completely.

Pruning Tips

Proper pruning helps maintain the health and appearance of your heliconias:

Use a fine-toothed pruning saw to cut dead stems at ground level. Heliconias have very fibrous stems and we have found other tools don’t work nearly as well. A Barnell sickle (large size – BLK727P) is a personal favorite.
After flowering, a stem will die back, and a new shoot will emerge from the rhizome. Regularly remove the dead stems by cutting them off as close to the ground as possible.
For trimming only leaves, handheld secateurs are a handy tool.

Planting Instructions

Good soil preparation ensures strong growth from the start:

Add plenty of compost to the soil or use premium garden soil to create a mound on top of existing soil.
If you’ve recently applied weed killer to the planting area, wait at least four to 6 weeks before introducing new heliconias. Glyphosate, for example, can break down in a matter of days but it’s preferable to allow more time just in case.

General Maintenance

To keep your heliconias looking their best:

Dig up and replant them every three years to maintain their size and shape. For smaller heliconias a spade and garden fork may be an enough to dig them out, but for larger heliconias we often use a crowbar and a brick as a lever to lift rhizomes out of the ground. Some growers also use all steel banana ‘desuckering’ spades with long spade heads to dig up rhizomes. The benefit of these is that they will not bend when levering the rhizomes out of the ground, being fully forged with steel handles. We also use a Spear & Jackson Draining Spade (SJ-2154HK), which functions well as a banana, heliconia, and ginger spade.

Mulching

A good layer of mulch helps retain moisture and improve soil quality:

We personally use either a ‘Forest Fines’ or ‘Green Harvest’ mulch which gives a forest floor look and takes some time to break down, so can be applied once a year. This is available from most landscape suppliers around Brisbane.
It is recommended to apply no more than 2 inches of mulch.
Sugarcane mulch is also a suitable alternative, but will need to be replenished more regularly.

Winter and Spring Care

Particularly in Brisbane, during colder months and the Ekka winds, your heliconias might look a little rough, with pale, shredded leaves or fungal-like spots. Don’t panic!