Kezza,

I won't lie to you, Heliconias can be a lot of work especially if you grow the larger upright claw species and have a lot of them as I do. If you have large numbers of them they can be fairly labour intensive. That's the downside.

On the upside, it would be hard to find another foliage plant that quite evokes the feeling of tropical lushness. Even where you live you will be able to grow a wide range of them.

When I have a large clump in full flower it is always admired by garden visitors especially visitors from temperate areas such as Sydney and Melbourne because they can only dream of growing them. Some of the better performers for the subtropics besides H. rostrata are Claw 1, Claw 2, Hot Rio Nights, collinsiana, Jacquinii, Kawauchi just to name a few. I know that these are varieties that are available in Brisbane but they are very expensive down there, it might pay to shop around.

Andrew.

i started collecting last year and now have 42 varietys.
We have an acre so I suppose there is plenty of room.
They are not that dear to buy if you shop around.
if you are coming up to Brisbane call into 'Horganics' at Chandler, they have about a dozen or so varietys at $8 each.
Richmond Red is nice and if you go onto the Gallery I have posted a pic of 'Garden of Eden'. They along with the Costus and Gingers make a Sub Tropical Garden.
Ian

If you don't want heliconias that will take over and send runners everywhere, stay away from psittacorum (spelling??). They are hardy and impossible to kill,but some of them are considered weeds up here, especially the orange one. They will take over and require a lot of maintenance, otherwise you will have nothing but heliconias in your garden and your neighbours' too. Although, they might not be too bad down in Gold Coast being subtropics and all.... hhhmmmm.

If you want to see different variety of heliconia and ginger, don't miss the ginger festival at Yandina (Sunshine Coast). Even though it is expensive there, you can just have a look on what is available and have a talk with some experts about different heliconias and their requirements.

Just a suggestion.

Good luck, Ari :)

Thanks so much to you all for your advice. I'm a bit apprehensive to go with the large heliconias after hearing they are pretty high maintenance. Are the dwarf ones worth a go or should I just go all out and try the larger varities and just keep them under control (is this possible?)

Well.. it all depends on how much room you got. Personally, I prefer slightly larger variety. Those bihai varieties don't get as big and they are quite nice and form a clump. My favourite is orthotrica (they form a smaller clump too)... but I am not so sure how they go down there.

Good luck, Ari :)

Orthotricha should do alright on the Gold Coast. Small winter flowering clumping varieties such as H.angusta (both red and yellow forms) are small and not nearly as vigorous growing as H. psittacorum.
Andrew.

Orthotricas do well here in Brisbane, we have 'Edge of Night (two types), Garden of Eden, She , and Carnival.
Only buy ones that clump.
Two Strictas that clump are 'Tigami and Buckey and Dimples do not plant Firebird it is a runner.
I completly agree that you stay away from Psittacorums.
Chartaceae Extra Sexy Pink is very nice. Birdiana is nice also Hot Rio Nights.
Like any plant you must control it not the other way around.
Heliconias are shallow rooted and can easily be dug out and split.
Wish you well
Ian

Best thing to do is buy an enormous vase and pick the flowers after a few weeks and enjoy them indoors for another week or so.

Thank you everyonefor your wonderful help and advice - I paid a visit to Horganics today at Chandler and Debbie was very helpful- I have in hand my first lot of heliconias. Will let you know how I go.

The big ones like Caribea, Bihai, etc. are indeed labour intensive (well, it depends on what each person considers to be intense labour I suppose) but this is only when time comes to re-plant them. Digging up a clump of towering stems is quite a job, but depending on how much you want to contain them, you dont really need to replant often. At my parent's place I've just left the same caribea clump in the same spot for up to 4 years and let it grow more beautiful with each year. It's a clumper, so it doesnt exactly take over (but all the seedlings that pop up around it might!). All I do in terms of maintenance to such a clump is ensure the removal of spent stems, bad leaves, weak stems, etc. and give them a good compost topdress and mulch each year.

Stear clear of running varieties - latispatha is a shocker. It just takes over.

when do you start composting Heliconias?

Hmmm...I think I have some Psittacorums in my garden. I don't know where they came from and they responded very well to my giving them a bit more water and feed (!). Boy, did they grow. They've got a yellowy-green flower not much different to the foliage. However, as a novice, they've spread so far as my heart (they were just about the first thing that I grew successfully) and I don't want to tear them out. Can I contain them with a barrier? And will glysophate have any effect on them for control puropses?