With winter in full swing, the last thing many gardeners are thinking about is planting tropical plants like heliconias. But many varieties have proven cold tolerance and hardiness in South East Queensland’s subtropical climate.
Now is the time to start thinking about getting some heliconias in the ground while the days are still cool. As spring rolls around they will be jumping out of the ground and rewarding you with colourful bracts in no time!
Here are some proven winners in our climate; a selection of some of the best landscaping varieties for screening or as feature plants. All of the following have proven cold tolerance and can be safely planted out in the cooler months in a frost free climate.
Heliconia ‘Criswick’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × caribaea ‘Criswick’
Growth Habit: Upright and tidy clumping
Height: 4–5 meters
Bracts: enormous bracts. Bright red with green tips
Landscape Use: Outstanding landscaping plant; one of the largest heliconias. Best for larger gardens with space to showcase its full majesty.
Heliconia ‘Black Cherry’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × caribaea ‘Black Cherry’
Growth Habit: Upright clumping
Height: 3–4 meters
Bracts: Dark cherry-red
Landscape Use: Great ornamental and landscaping plant; excellent for cut flowers
Heliconia ‘Rauliniana’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × marginata ‘Rauliniana’
Growth Habit: Tight clumping with long vertical stems, and clean upright foliage at the top of the plant. Tall, narrow growth habit. Quite different in growth habit to all other cultivars.
Height: 3–4.5 meters
Bracts: Long pendulous, ‘corkscrew’ style bracts which are red with yellow at the tips.
Landscape Use: Relatively easy to grow and cold-tolerant; good landscaping plant. A standout variety for narrower garden beds. Good for screening.
Heliconia ‘Jacquinii’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × caribaea ‘Jacquinii’
Growth Habit: Tidy upright clumping, bushy and lush appearance.
Height: 3–4 meters
Bracts: Orangy-red with wide yellow edges
Landscape Use: Great landscaping plant, can be used for screening or as a feature plant.
Heliconia ‘Kawauchi’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × caribaea ‘Kawauchi’
Growth Habit: Tight clumping, bushy and upright. Silvery white powder on stems.
Height: 3–4 meters
Bracts: Chunky bright orangy-red with yellow edges
Landscape Use: Fantastic landscaping plant with lush green foliage; a must-have in any tropical garden. Can be used for screening or as a feature plant. One of the most popular landscaping heliconias and for good reason!
Heliconia ‘Hot Rio Nights’
Botanical Name: Heliconia bihai × caribaea ‘Hot Rio Nights’
Growth Habit: Tight clumping and upright with clean stems, a little bit more open ‘v’ shaped form than other bihai x caribaea cultivars.
Height: 3–4 meters
Bracts: Massive bright red flowers, often up to half a meter long
Landscape Use: very popular, a truly excellent landscaping plant. Can be used for screening or as a feature plant.
Heliconia ‘Tropics’
Botanical Name: Heliconia psittacorum × spathocircinata ‘Tropics’ syn. ‘Tropifleur’ or ‘Tropic Fleur’
Growth Habit: Very neat, tight clumping and upright. Will not ‘run’ like other psittacorum varieties, making it suitable for smaller gardens.
Height: usually 1.5–2.5 meters
Bracts: small to medium sized inflorescences. Pastel red toward the tips, fading to peach at the base
Landscape Use: Vigorous grower; great for cut flowers and as a landscaping plant. A good alternative to the bihai x caribaea cultivars if you are looking for something a bit smaller. Good for a lower screen, or smaller space.
So there you have it! Some of the best, most reliable landscaping heliconias for a subtropical climate. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start if you’re new to the Heliconia world. Like most heliconias, all of these varieties will flower between Spring and Autumn depending on conditions, rewarding you with vibrant colour during the warmest months of the year.
Common Questions and Answers
Can heliconias be planted next to a pool?
Yes, heliconias have non-invasive roots and will not disturb a pool.
I want to create a screen along a fence next to a pool, how close should I plant the heliconias together?
Allow a minimum of 1-2 meters distance apart between each plant. Remember that the more plants you plant in the space, the sooner the space will fill up and look lush but also the sooner they will need to be maintained and thinned out to prevent overcrowding with spent stems and rhizomes. See my other post here for tips on how to grow and maintain heliconias.
When I buy plants, does it matter if the plant I buy has only 2 or 3 stems?
Not necessarily. Heliconias grow from rhizomes, and new stems will emerge from the soil level. They are also fast growing, so even if your plant has only a few stems in the pot, it will bush out quickly when planted in the ground.
Does the height of the plant I buy matter?
Heliconias are fast growing, and will quickly gain height. If it is more convenient to buy a shorter plant, this is absolutely OK and will not affect how it looks all that much in a few months time when it starts to establish in the ground.
Zacaconia Tropical Gardens 