all depends on what type you have?
but the good news is---the hard part is over!!!
once they have sprouted,they are EASY to grow,but it depends on what type you have,as to if you can grow them outdoors here in CA

JJ, congrats!! Now that's what I call patience. Good luck. :)

Leona

I answered your post on another forum, but I just wanted to add that 10 months for heli seeds is not unusual. We usually get a flush of germination, but stragglers will continue popping up for a couple of years after that, so it's best not to toss out the community pots (or bags) for a while longer-- unless you've got all you want.

Thanks for your responses, everybody.

I don't know what type it is. I was at a public garden about 20 miles inland, and saw an opportunity... (Was that wrong?) Anyway, I'm sure they'd do fine outdoors here, I just wasn't sure if I should grow the little seedlings inside our out. I planted them last night in 2" pots w/ MG soil & gave them a tiny bit of MG fertilizer.

I'll have to go back to that garden sometime to find out exactly what type this is. The blooms were red, but not as big as the lobster claw type.

Thanks again!
jj

JJ, if you are in coastal SoCal, you might be in zone 11, see map. I'm close to the beach in Venice and am definitely in zone 11 (zone 24 Sunset), and I can say that in the 14 years I've been here, it's never been below 42°, even in the coldest winter. My exroommate kept all his orchids outside here all year, and they did fine. He also planted a Heliconia Schiedeana, which {{gwi:1313977}} again. I don't remember how he germinated them, but he may have used your method. We have them on the north side of the house, shaded by fairly tall philodendrons. FRS the heliconias only get to about 5'. He got the seeds from the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia, which is in zone 10a (possibly 9b), which is known to have occasional frosts - the last one in 1989, I think. In the Arboretum, they were growing in full sun and were in a fairly wet area next to some ginger. Here are some tips on growing this variety.

I would like to get some more heliconia myself, that would make larger flowers.

Lars

I'm growing the H. schiedeana about 6 miles inland from Lars, and they grow to 7-8' in dappled shade and dampish soil. The ones in full sun (and against a white wall) aren't nearly as healthy looking; the ground's much drier there.

They didn't bloom for me till their third year, when they attained full height. The good news: the rhizomes multiply and the clump gets bigger. Last year, only 2 bloomed and I cut them; this year there were 7 and I left them on the plants; have collected 2 fruits so far. (Better not to cut them: the flowers last a really long time on the plant, not nearly as long cut)

From what I've read, each fruit holds three hard-shelled seeds which, as Lisa notes, can stay dormant for a long time, even for years.