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Featured Flower: Bird of Paradise
SAF - Flower and Plant Care
Botanical Name
Strelitzia Reginae
Traditionally, Southern California growers bag the inflorescence a few weeks befor harvest. Slender, elongated waxed paper bags are placed over the expanding bracts a week or more before the orange flowers are ready to emerge. The bags protect the brittle flowers by holding them inside or next to the bracts. The bag also helps prevent Botrytis mold, rain and hail damage, aphid attacks, and sunburn of the flowers. The specific epithet reginae means “queen”. Ethylene Sensitivity Strelitzia flowers are insensitive to ethylene and their life is not improved by treatment with STS or 1-MCP.
Pretreatments
No pretreatments are required.
Storage Conditions
The optimum long term storage temperature range for this species is 44 to 46ºF, which is different from most other flowers. Storage below this recommended range can result in chill disorders, the appearance of brown lesions on the flowers and bracts, and the failure of the flower to open properly. For short-term storage, hold the flowers at room temperature, or in a tropical storage room (55ºF). Strelitzia flowers harvested in the tight bud stage will open and have satisfactory vase life after 4 weeks in storage if pre-treated with a fungicide, wrapped to prevent desiccation, and stored at 46ºF and 85-90% R.H.
Vase Solution Requirements
Flower stems may be treated after harvest with a registered fungicide to prevent Botrytis. Flower longevity can be substantially increased by pulsing buds or flowers for 24 hours (48 hours is even better) with a fresh flower food solution fortified with 10% sugar.
Consumer Life 7–14 days
Purchasing Hints
Make sure flower heads are dry at time of purchase. If flowers are wet or have excessive nectar exudation upon unpacking then the possibility of subsequent postharvest disease problems is increased.
Additional Information If flowers fail to emerge from the spathe (the modified leaf below the flowers), the first flower can be gently eased out by hand and will normally provide good display life.
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