Season: Perennial
USDA Zones: 9 - 11
Height: 24 - 48 inches
Bloom Season: Fall through spring
Bloom Color: Mix
Environment: Full sun to partial shade
Soil Type: Moist, well-drained
These Strelitzia Reginae seeds produce a very unusual yet prized flower. This seed grows into a long-lasting 4 foot plant, and the Bird of Paradise flower is similar in appearance to a bird's head. The center bloom stalk is 3 feet long and the multicolored bloom is 6 - 8 inches in length. Colors include orange, copper, blue and red. The Bird of Paradise plant likes temperatures above 50 degrees F, so in most places it is better to grow it in a pot and keep the plant indoors during the winter and move outside in the summer. Move the pot outdoors slowly for brief periods of time each day, and let the Bird of Paradise acclimate or the plant can get sunburned.
Bird of Paradise flower seeds are slow to germinate, taking up to 8 or more weeks to germinate, and it will take 4 - 7 years for the plant to start blooming. When planting, soak the hard Strelitzia Reginae flower seeds for 24 - 48 hours and remove the orange tuft of hairs. Plant the flower seeds an inch deep in moist potting soil. Plants bloom best when pot-bound. If you need to re-pot a plant it might take a couple of years or more for the plant to start blooming again.