Heliconia stricta ‘Tagami’

Heliconia 'Tagami' (Heliconia stricta 'Tagami') is the plant to use when a garden needs to look tropical without waiting years for it. Clumps reach about 1.8m tall and 1.5m across, with broad paddle shaped leaves and upright red bracts tipped in yellow that hold for weeks and draw honeyeaters. It is fast, it suckers into a solid clump, and it takes the heat and humidity that flatten most flowering plants.

Why you'll love it

• Colour that lasts. The bracts, not the small true flowers, carry the display, so a single stem stays showy for weeks through the warm months.
• It fills space quickly. New canes come from the base each season, so a small planting becomes a lush clump within a year or two.
• It likes wet ground. Damp beds, low corners and irrigated borders that rot other plants suit it, and it shrugs off humidity.
• Birds work the flowers. Nectar rich bracts bring honeyeaters into the garden through the flowering season.

Where it works best

Poolside and courtyards. Broad leaves and no thorns make it an easy pool surround. The leaves shed in one piece rather than dropping fine litter into the water.

Mass planting and screening. Plant 1m apart for a continuous mass, or in a double staggered row at 1m for an informal screen that softens a fence to about head height.

Pots and feature clumps. A large container of 500mm or more holds a single clump well on a warm patio, provided it never dries out completely.

Growing Heliconia 'Tagami' in Australia

Position and climate. Part shade to filtered sun gives the best leaf; full hot sun scorches the margins in dry inland heat. This is a tropical, subtropical and warm temperate plant and it is frost tender, so cold southern gardens, the tablelands and frosty inland districts need it under cover or in a pot that can be moved.

Soil. Rich, moist soil with plenty of compost. It tolerates wet feet better than most, though it still wants water to move rather than sit stagnant. Mulch 75mm deep to keep the roots cool.

Water and feed. Water often through spring and summer; this is not a dry garden plant. Feed with a complete fertiliser in early spring and again in mid summer to keep new canes coming.

Pruning. Cut each cane to the ground once its bract has finished, since a spent cane never flowers again. Tidy wind torn leaves at the same time and the clump stays fresh.

What to expect when it arrives

It is supplied in 175mm pots, sold in packs of six, which is enough to plant roughly 6 square metres at 1m spacing. Plants arrive as young clumps with a few established leaves rather than in flower. Some leaf damage in transit is normal for anything with foliage this broad, and those leaves are best trimmed off at planting.

Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. In warm weather expect new canes within six to eight weeks and first flowers in the second season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare the full heliconia range for other bract colours and heights.
• Designing a tropical garden that stays lush covers layering and companions.
• See other poolside plants that cope with splash and reflected heat.
• Browse the wider tropical plant range.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

One metre apart for a mass planting or informal screen. Each clump widens to about 1.5m, so at that spacing the planting closes over within two seasons.

Will it survive a cold winter?

Not a frosty one. It is frost tender, and cold wet winters check it badly. In cooler southern gardens grow it in a pot and move it to a sheltered warm position over winter.

Why has my clump stopped flowering?

Usually old canes. Each cane flowers once, so cut spent stems to ground level and feed in spring to push new growth that will carry the next display.