Hi lovely flowers! I am finally back after a few months of my usual emptiness and also intensive studying for exams. They are all done so now I can finally dedicate myself to new posts! A plant post is long overdue! I apologize for my absence. So, let's get started!

Today I bring you....

Strelitzia Reginae , commonly known as Bird of Paradise because of its flower which looks like an exotic bird. It's scientific name Strelitzia, it's an hommage to the British Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who was of African descendant. Shall I say it's a fitting tribute, since this plant originaly grows in South Africa? And Reginae is Latin for queen. And to be frank with you, this plant can really be considered the queen of plants, although for me, it shares her royal title with another plant from the same genus, Strelitzia Nicolai, which we also have on Stardoll over Sweet Suites. It has huge leaves, more palmate and larger in width. The flower is black and white and sprouts in between the leaves' petioles, and it doesn't have a petiole of it's own, so it kind of looks like a black bird with huge green feathers.

As previously stated, it originates from South Africa, although today you minght find it in lots of gardens from tropical to temperate regions. I literally only need to walk out the front door to see my mother's two Strelitzias on the porch. 

It will be VERY hard to divide the plant on the ground,(they are very stiff) especially when leaves die and you are lelft with the dried base of the petioles, making the plant have lots of spaces in between the clusters, which aestheticaly, isn't nice. So for a much closer and better care, having it in a pot is the best option. And you can have it inside as well, by a west facing window, where the the sun shines for most of the day. As far as watering goes, I don't water my Strelitzia that much, since it probably has access to underground water stored from rains, but I usually water it twice a month in Spring and once a week in the Summer. I give a good dose of water because she is so big and has a lot of sunlight. If you have yours inside, water a glass per week on Summer and once in two or three weeks in Winter. I don't fertilize mine because they simply grow like crazy. If growing inside, you will have to wipe its leaves every other week, the dust prevents them from doing a proper photosynthesis.

It is a very popular plant, used as ornamental plant in gardens and as a houseplant in cooler climates. It is also the national flower of the Portuguese island of Madeira, where it grows well... everywhere! ("Bailinho da Madeira" is playing in my head as I write this!)

When planted outside, it doesn't mind being planted in full sun, in fact it needs it in order to flower. But it can be in places with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight as well. In Winter, it should be kept covered (by a clear plastic cloth, if you have a big, established plant that you can't dig and pot and bring inside) to avoid frosts that severely damage their leaves. It handles it actually, but they get all brown and curled and it is more work for you in the Spring to cut the damaged leaves. Our Strelitzias are weird... they flower at the end of Winter, like, IT'S STILL FREEZING WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HONEY?! I Its flowers get severely damaged and black due to the frosts, and since it's a big plant, it sprouts around 10-15 flowers, so I cut one or two and appreciate them from the warmth of our living room, since they will soon rot with the cold outside. They will grow a lot both in hight (around 2 meters or so) and width, they spread in clusters so if you want to keep it nice and small, you can always plant it on a pot.