Tips on Caring for a Heliconia Plant

Heliconia plants are exotic plants grown because of their beautiful flowers available in a wide range of colors. If you want to grow one of these plants in your garden, there are a few things you should know. This article will give you a few tips.

Soil

It's best that you grow your Heliconia plant in a general purpose potting soil. The soil needs to allow water to drain freely yet also retain water well. If your particular soil is too compact, you will need to add sand or peat moss to the mix.

Light

Heliconia plants will do best when grown in full sunlight. They require about six hours of direct sunlight each day. Providing them with appropriate sunlight will allow for more flowers to grow. If you don't provide the plant with enough sunlight, there will be less flower production and unhealthy leaves.

Water

Heliconia plants should be watered daily. You should do so in the morning and the evening. With all of this water it becomes especially important that the soil you use drains well. Standing water will increase the risk of the plant being attacked by fungus.

If you're growing the Heliconia indoors, you need to ensure that it has plenty of humidity. Remember that using your central cooling system saps moisture from the air. While growing the plant in a large pot, you can add gravel to a drainage dish to increase humidity around the plant.

Feeding

Your Heliconia will grow best if you use an all around, water-soluble fertilizer. While the plant is in the growing stages, you should apply fertilizer every two weeks or so.

These are a few tips for growing Heliconia plants. Make sure you provide the plant with full sunlight and plenty of water. Also ensure that the soil drains well or fungus may grow and attack the plant.