Plant in full sun and water regularly to occasionally – is moderately drought tolerant. Withstands salty coastal winds but such conditions often tear the leaves and plant in warm locations or protect from frost, as is only cold hardy to 28° F. This plant lends a tropical look to landscapes and it particularly useful growing against buildings and near pools or used as a large potted specimen.

Strelitzia nicolai grows naturally in coastal dune vegetation and in evergreen forests near the coast from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa north into Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The genus name Strelitzia was given to this plant by Sir Joseph Banks in 1733, then the unofficial director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, to honor Queen Sophia Charlotte, the wife of George the 3rd of England, who was the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and had lived at Kew for many years. The specific epithet honors the Grand duke Nikolai Nikolaievich, son of Czar Nicholas I of Russia. Though not related, this plant is often called Natal Wild Banana in South Africa.

This large plant is commonly planted in Santa Barbara and other Southern California coastal communities, though its size makes it best used in larger commercial plantings. Because it is more tender than other plants in the genus, we grew it from 1981 until 1998 as a greenhouse crop. 

This information about Strelitzia nicolai displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.