Love them! so hard to come by these days

Looks like an HD price tag? I'd love to find some of these. Every time I see a documentary about hummingbirds, there's Heliconia involved. (That's the only reason I'd abide plain green leaves like that.) I think there are a bunch of different ones. Do those indicate which species they are?

not to hijack this thread...

purple,

if you'd like to attract hummingbirds, and you like purple... have you seen Salvia 'Amistad' yet? i know you like purple foliage, but maybe purple flowers would suffice?

it's a new plant so it might not have made it to your local stores yet.

cheers,

nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia forum - Salvia 'Amistad'

TY, Nancy, love those purple flowers! I think all Salvia are nectar plants, if you see any others out there, it's a pretty safe bet.

So have you brought one of these home yet, Will? I'm dying to repot them, BTW, release them from those strangling bonds, they look like they've run out of room to grow.

Those Psittacorum Heliconias look good but they rapidly become a bit of a nightmare. No container (or garden) is big enough for them. They just multiply and grow fast. They flower for a long time and there's a range of colours. So if you can keep them confined they're great.

Do they grow like Sans, with a creeping rhizome? Sounds perfect to be killed by winter, which saves me from accidentally starting "little Florida" right here across the border with a lot of stuff.

Again I work at RONA. And no I didn't buy one, I wanted to though I love the colours. I Don't have any more room for plants.

They have a running rhizome, but it's not all that deep down. They spread out into my lawns and other gardens. I mow them down but they just reshoot. From what I've read on forums though, they die back to the ground at temperatures still above freezing.

This is a problem with a lot of Heliconias, they spread out rapidly. Some people here suggest only keeping them in pots. But they rapidly fill pots as well. The flowers are really great though.

This sounds like a kind of plant I would love to play with - like Cannas but 'safe.' It sounds like you don't have any, Tropic? The flowers or leaves don't do much for me, but if hummingbirds would enjoy it, I'm all for it. I wonder if these can be stored dormant, like a Canna, Gladiolus, or Colocasia bulb?

Daggone it, apparently I've failed some kind of quiz. Never heard of RONA store, but I better remember that's where Will works! Don't even tell me that having no more room means that one stops acquiring plants, I won't listen! It's been tried before.

Are these plants outside at the store where hummingbirds could visit? Are there hummingbirds in Canada? Last summer I saw a hummingbird moth (not related to actual hummingbirds at all) visiting flowers at a WM, that was cool.

Lol purple, RONA is strictly a Canadian store. And no these plants are not outside. We have a greenhouse. And yes there are humming birds in Canada.

As for no more room for new plants...I have no room for big plants at all. I like to buy them tiny and grow them. The only plant I ever bought in a 10" pot was a cordyline for my mother one spring and I don't know what happened to it.

Awww, do you think the hummers know y'all are holding out on them like that?

I feel the same way about the excitement of watching the tiny things grow, like already-growing Cannas or Dahlias in a pot don't tempt me, but the bags of naked rhizomes do! Sounds like you would prefer to start with a Ti log than the plant, my kind of fun too. Have you sprouted any avocados?

Thanks for the lil' virtual Canadian shopping trip. Hummers also like Cannas! This guy is just flying by for a great chance photo, but I've watched them sample each open bloom time after time.

Purp, I've truelly got hundreds of the Psittacorum Heliconias, but it's not all that bad if I can keep them where they are and stop them from spreading. I've also a few other less rampant ones, including the Dwarf Jamaican. Normally they don't go dormant so don't know what would happen if the rhizomes were stored after they got knocked back by cold. Logically you'd think they'd be okay if they didn't dry out completely.

I like Heliconias and plan to get some more of the larger ones. Only problem is wallabies like those taller ones - 'every silver lining has it's cloud', LOL.

Will heliconia survive planted outdoors in zone 8