Popularly known as white starch, it is a plant that belongs to the Musaceae family and to the Strelitzia genus, which is made up of 4 species of perennial plants. It has its origin in the southern and subtropical areas of Africa, and its species are: strelitzia alba, strelitzia reginae, strelitzia nicolai and strelitzia juncea.
It is also known by the name of estrelicia Augusta and it is a rhizomatous plant of an arboreal size that can reach 10 meters in height. It has large leaves that can exceed a meter in length and have pinkish-white axillary flowers. It blooms in summer.
Basic care of strelicia augusta
- Location: it is usually used to form small groups but also in isolation to decorate any space. It can also be grown in pots on terraces or patios, always needing to be in an area where it receives direct sunlight or at least with very good lighting.
- Temperature: the ideal is that it is temperate and that it is never exposed to frost since it would not tolerate them.
- Soil: the perfect one for this plant is the one that has a mixture of garden soil with peat, manure, sand and leaf mulch.
- Transplant: if you have it in a pot, you can transplant it every 3 years, always in spring.
- Watering: it has to be abundant and frequent, although always waiting for the surface to dry between each watering, keeping the soil some moisture at all times.
- Compost: Apply an organic mineral fertilizer when you add your annual garden compost.
- Pruning: it does not need it but it is good to do it to eliminate old or damaged leaves.
- Pests and diseases: it is very resistant in this sense, so unless you neglect the basics a lot.
- Multiplication: the best option is to make it from the shoots that are produced at the base and that you will put to root as cuttings.
Growing and caring for strelicia augusta
