Hanging Lobster Claw

Hanging Lobster Claw (Heliconia rostrata) carries the most recognisable flower in tropical gardening: long pendulous chains of scarlet bracts tipped in yellow and green, hanging below broad paddle shaped leaves. Clumps reach about 2.5m tall and 2m across, and they grow quickly enough to fill a bare corner in a couple of seasons. Honeyeaters work the flowers through the warmer months.

Why you'll love it

• The flower is the whole argument. Pendulous red and yellow bracts hang in chains and hold their colour for weeks, which is why they are cut for arrangements.
• It fills space fast. A fast growing clumping habit means a thin planting becomes a solid tropical mass within two seasons.
• It tolerates wet ground. Unusually for a large feature plant, it copes with soil that stays damp, so it suits low spots and pond edges that defeat other plants.
• Broad lush foliage. Even out of flower the banana like leaves carry the tropical look, and they screen at eye level.

Where it works best

Poolside planting. The classic use, and a sound one. It handles humidity, heat and reflected light, and the broad leaves soften hard paving without dropping the fine litter that clogs a filter.

Screening and mass planting. Plant 1m apart for a dense tropical screen. At that spacing the clumps merge into a continuous wall of foliage between 2m and 2.5m tall, enough to block a fence line or a neighbouring window.

Feature planting. A single clump against a plain wall or in a courtyard corner shows the hanging bracts at their best, since they need space beneath them to hang properly.

Growing Hanging Lobster Claw in Australia

Position and climate. Filtered sun or part shade suits it best, with protection from strong wind, which shreds the leaves. This is strictly a tropical and subtropical plant. It is frost tender, so anything colder needs it in a large pot that can be moved under cover.

Soil. Rich, moisture retentive soil with plenty of organic matter. It is one of the few large feature plants that tolerates wet feet, so heavy ground is less of a problem here than usual. Mulch generously.

Water and feed. This is a thirsty plant. Water frequently and deeply through the warm months and never let an establishing clump dry out. Feed a controlled release fertiliser in early spring and mid summer.

Pruning. Cut spent flowering stems to ground level once the bracts finish, because each stem flowers only once. Divide congested clumps every three to four years to keep flowering strong.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in four sizes: 180mm in packs of six, 250mm in packs of three, and single 300mm and 400mm plants. The packs suit a screen or mass planting, given you need a plant every metre. The 300mm and 400mm plants give a fuller clump sooner, which suits a feature position or a poolside corner.

Heliconias grow from rhizomes, so plants can arrive with fewer stems than you expect. That is normal, and the clump builds quickly once the rhizome is established. Do not expect flowers in the first season. Delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, 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 looks lush year round
• Browse the full heliconia range
• Plants suited to poolside gardens
• Hot Rio Nights Heliconia, for upright bracts instead of hanging

Common questions

Will it grow in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth?

It is frost tender and suited to tropical and subtropical gardens, so Melbourne is out and cooler parts of Sydney and Perth are marginal. There the reliable approach is a large pot moved under cover in winter.

How long before it flowers?

Usually the second season. The first year goes into building the rhizome and stems, and flowering follows once the clump has enough established growth behind it.

Does it spread and become a problem?

It spreads by rhizome and the clump widens steadily, but stays a clump rather than running through the garden. Divide it every three or four years.