Are you referring to Phenakospermum guyannense? Even though they grow like weeds in habitat, they seem to be very tricky to cultivate. Here at Leu Gardens have tried hundreds of seeds with no germination and several dozen rhizomes with no luck. We were given a young specimen. It grew well but slow for a couple of years then promptly died. I have never ever seen another plant in Florida.

Hi
You mean even fairchild doesn't have one??
A grower in Cal. asked about them and I had to say I've never seen one lol. Interesting when all the other members of the family are very common . There are at least a dozen
ravenala in my neighborhood lol. I had mine removed because I couldn't figure out how to control it . Still have the other Strelitzia but not phenakospermum.
saw some pix of some flowering in Hawaii which apparently took around 20 years!! Was overshadowed by the flowering of Pelagodoxa henryana so info was limited.
Any guesses as to why it is so difficult to grow??
Thanks for the info!! gary

I'm not sure why it is so difficult. I know a lot of people have tried getting this started with no luck.