My latest quarterly column in the Journal of the Australian Institute of Landscape Designers and Managers…

Plant Profile – Tropical

 

Heliconia caribae x bihai ‘Hot Rio Nights’

Of all the Heliconias I have trialed, ‘Hot Rio Nights’ is my favorite. A vigorous upright grower to 3 metres tall with large banana like leaves, this plant is also one of the clumping Heliconias. ‘Hot Rio Nights’ flowers prolifically. Large, solid red flowers contrast beautifully with the glaucous hue of the stems and the bright green leaves. The main flowering period is during the warm and humid summer months but in tropical and subtropical areas, it flowers almost year round.

‘Hot Rio Nights’ can be grown in full/part sun and in shade. In full shade it will grow taller and flowering is reduced. Rich, well-drained soil with adequate water will give best results. Adding compost, leaf litter mulch and a balanced fertilizer will be beneficial and extend the geographical range but Heliconias don’t like frost.

Due to the relatively narrow base of this plant, it can be kept easily at one meter diameter, ‘Hot Rio Nights’ works well as a screen plant in narrow spaces. It fans out to 3 to 4 meters at the top giving plenty of coverage. No leaf drop makes it ideal for planting near swimming pools. It also works well as an accent plant or to fill a large space amongst other tropical plants. It can be a good alternative to Bamboo, it will stay true to size and perform for years given the right maintenance as described below. One or two plants are perfectly manageable in an average sized garden, more than that, the maintenance will become significant.

The key to making this plant work as an ornamental landscaping plant, is to understand it’s growth habit. Each ‘stem’ is made up of rolled up leave bases and the flowers emerge from the top of these ‘stems’. Each ‘stem’ produces one flower only which lasts for several weeks. During this time the foliage slowly deteriorates and when the flower is finished the whole stem should be cut out. This results in a plant that always looks great.

 

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