Strelitzia nicolai - Giant White Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia nicolai, commonly known as the wild banana or giant white bird of paradise, is a species of banana-like plants with erect woody stems reaching a height of 7–8m (23–26ft), and the clumps formed can spread as far as 3.5m (11ft).

The 1.8m (5ft 11in)-long leaves are grey-green and arranged like a fan at the top of the stems, similar to Ravenala madagascariensis. The inflorescence is composed of a dark blue bract, white sepals and a bluish-purple "tongue". The entire flower can be as much as 18cm (7.1in) high by 45cm (18in) long, and is typically held just above the point where the leaf fan emerges from the stem. Flowers are followed by triangular seed capsules.

Strelitzia nicolai is among the few plants which have been verified to contain the pigment bilirubin, which is usually found in animals.

The seeds are sown in mineral-based cat litter or perlite  in plastic-pots. Please sow the seeds on the mineral soil. Bigger seeds need to be covered with the mineral soil, small seeds should remain on the surface.

Then put the plastic pot in a zip-lock bag - with a pot size of 6 cm , a zip-lock bag of size 12 x 17 cm is recommended . Fill in the zip-lock bag as much tap water with a few drops of universal fertilizer, so that after the absorption of the substrate a few mm of water remain on the bottom. 

Location: on the windowsill or in a small greenhouse in partial shade, daytime temperatures at about 73-83 F, somewhat lower at night at 68-72 F.

Price is for 3 seeds.