All Seasons Plant Finder

Other Names:  Parrot Flower, Parakeet Flower

Description:

A beautiful, unusual accent plant, ideal for beds and patio containers; features oblong leaves variegated in green and cream, and stunning blooms with slender scarlet bracts and yellow to orange flowers; a stunning addition to create a tropical landscape

Ornamental Features

Lady Di Heliconia features showy spikes of yellow flowers with orange overtones and scarlet bracts rising above the foliage from early spring to late fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive large oval leaves remain green in color with showy creamy white variegation and tinges of grayish green throughout the year. It produces navy blue berries from early summer to late fall.

Landscape Attributes

Lady Di Heliconia is an herbaceous evergreen tropical plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its wonderfully bold, coarse texture can be very effective in a balanced garden composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Lady Di Heliconia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

This plant is native to the tropics and prefers growing in moist environments with evenly warm conditions all year round. In our climate, it is usually grown as an outdoor annual in the garden or in a container. If you want it to survive the winter, it can be brought in to the house and provided with special care, and then returned to the garden the following season. In its preferred tropical habitat, it can grow to be around 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 inches. However, when grown as an annual or when overwintered indoors, it can be expected to perform differently, and its exact height and spread will depend on many factors; you may wish to consult with our experts as to how it might perform in your specific application and growing conditions.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. This plant is a heavy feeder that requires frequent fertilizing throughout the growing season to perform at its best. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Lady Di Heliconia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.