Heliconia subulata

Heliconia subulata is the clumping heliconia to use when you want a tropical screen rather than a single specimen. It runs to about 2.5m tall and 1.5m wide, throwing upright yellow and orange bracts above paddle shaped foliage through the warm months. Growth is fast, so a row planted 1m apart fills out inside a season in a warm garden.

Why you'll love it

• A living screen with flowers. The clump thickens from the base each year, giving privacy at 2m to 2.5m without the bare legs of a shrub hedge.
• Long flowering in warm gardens. Upright yellow and orange bracts hold for weeks and cut well for the vase.
• Birds work it hard. Honeyeaters and lorikeets go for the nectar, which makes it one of the better tropical feature plants for wildlife.
• It copes with wet ground. Damp beds and irrigated garden edges that rot other feature plants suit it, and it handles real heat and humidity.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1m apart in a single row along a fence or a boundary. The clumps knit together at the base and give a soft green wall rather than a clipped one.

Poolside. The foliage is large and clean, and the plant does not drop the fine litter that clogs skimmer baskets. Set it back far enough that the leaves are not constantly splashed with chlorinated water.

Feature and mass planting. One clump anchors a tropical bed. Several at 1m spacing under high canopy trees give a layered understorey with colour at eye level.

Growing Heliconia subulata in Australia

Position and climate. Partial shade to filtered sun, with protection from the harshest afternoon light. This is a tropical and subtropical plant only. It is frost tender: a cold snap burns the foliage, and in warm districts the clump reshoots from the base, but in cold southern gardens it will not persist outdoors.

Soil. Rich, moisture holding soil with plenty of compost dug through. It tolerates wet feet better than most, though it still prefers ground that drains eventually rather than a permanent bog.

Water and feed. Keep the root zone consistently moist through spring and summer, easing back in winter. Feed a complete fertiliser at the start of the warm season and again mid summer. Mulch heavily to hold moisture.

Pruning. Cut spent flowering stems out at ground level once the bracts brown, along with any damaged leaves. Thin congested clumps every few years so light reaches the centre.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in 300mm pots and in 180mm packs of six. The 180mm plants are younger and are the value option for a screen or mass planting. A 300mm plant is a more established clump and is the pick when you want one feature specimen in the ground now.

Heliconias carry a lot of leaf, so some tearing or edge browning in transit is normal and the plant grows through it. Cut damaged leaves off after planting. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Designing a tropical garden that stays lush
• Browse the full heliconia range
• Compare plants suited to poolside beds
• Choosing low maintenance poolside planting

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. The clumps spread sideways as they mature, so closer planting only makes thinning harder later.

Will it survive frost?

The foliage burns at the first frost. In tropical and subtropical gardens the clump usually reshoots from the base in spring, but this is not a plant for cold inland or southern districts.

How quickly will it flower?

A 300mm plant often flowers in its first warm season. Smaller plants usually take a year to build the clump before bracts appear.