of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault. Cultivation Strelitzia reginae (Image: Richard Wilford) In Britain, bird-of-paradise flower cannot usually be grown outside as it requires a minimum temperature of 10C. During the winter, the plants should be kept almost dry but in summer they need plenty of water. A suitable compost can be made from one part loam, one and a half parts coir, one part grit and one part bark. The plants require regular feeding. Flowering occurs in spring and early summer and can be encouraged by keeping the plants slightly pot-bound. Hand-pollination is necessary to produce seeds, but this seldom works. For germination and initial growth, the seeds need bottom-heat of at least 21C. Some new stocks of seed-raised plants can reach flowering size in two to three years, but individual specimens may take up to ten years. Due to the difficulty of producing seeds, Strelitzia reginae is usually propagated by dividing the plants or using suckers produced at the base. Mature plants should not be re-potted too often, as the fleshy roots can easily be damaged by disturbance. Bird-of-paradise flower at Kew Strelitzia reginae is grown in the south block of the Temperate House (known as the Mexican House until 1977). It was the first plant to be replaced in the newly restored Temperate House in 1979. Grown here are typical S. reginae with small lanceolate leaf-blades (tapering at both ends); 'Kirstenbosch Gold',