Temptress Heliconia

Temptress Heliconia (Heliconia chartacea 'Temptress') carries long pendent flower bracts in pink and green that hang from arching stems like a string of lanterns. The clump grows to about 3m tall and 2m wide, fast, with big paddle leaves that make a wall of tropical foliage in a couple of seasons. If you want a garden that reads as tropical from the first glance, this is the plant that does it.

Why you'll love it

• Pendent bracts unlike anything else. Pink and green flower chains hang below the foliage, and they cut for the house and last well in a vase.
• Fast, dense tropical foliage. Large paddle leaves fill space quickly, so a bare fence line becomes a green screen within two seasons.
• It clumps rather than runs. New canes push up from the base to widen the clump steadily, which makes it easy to keep to a defined area.
• Wet ground suits it. Humidity tolerant and comfortable with wet feet, so the damp corner that drowns other plants is exactly where it thrives.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 1.5m apart for a lush screen. At that spacing the clumps merge in about two seasons into a soft green wall roughly 3m high.

Poolside planting. The leaves are large and few, so there is far less litter in the water than a palm or a fine leafed shrub produces.

Feature and mass planting. A single clump anchors a tropical bed. In a larger garden, a run of three or five at 1.5m centres gives depth and a proper canopy layer.

Growing Temptress Heliconia in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, sheltered from strong wind, which shreds the leaves. This is a tropical and subtropical plant and it is frost tender, so it needs a frost free garden. Cooler southern gardeners can only grow it in a large pot moved under cover for winter.

Soil. Rich, moisture holding soil with plenty of organic matter. Dig compost or aged manure through the bed before planting, then mulch heavily. It does not need sharp drainage the way most plants do.

Water and feed. Water is the main input: keep the soil consistently moist through the warm months and never let a clump dry out. Feed monthly through spring and summer with a complete fertiliser, because the growth rate is high and the demand goes with it.

Pruning. Cut spent canes to ground level once they have flowered, since each cane flowers only once. Thinning old canes every year keeps light in the clump and new growth coming.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in one size, a 250mm pack of 3, grown to order rather than held in stock. Each plant is an established division with a developed root mass, ready to push new canes as soon as it is warm.

Some leaf tearing and edge browning after transit is normal for foliage this large, and those leaves are replaced quickly. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full heliconia range
• Designing a tropical garden that stays lush
• Compare plants for poolside gardens
• More tropical plants for warm gardens

Common questions

Will it survive a frost?

No. It is frost tender and even a light frost damages the foliage and can kill young clumps. Outside the tropics and subtropics, grow it in a pot and shift it under cover for winter.

When will it flower?

Usually the second season after planting, once canes have reached close to full height. Each cane flowers once, then it is cut out and replaced by the next.

How do I stop it taking over the bed?

It clumps rather than running, so it widens slowly and predictably. Lift and divide the outer canes every three or four years if you want it held to a set footprint.