Plant ID: Are these GBOPs really Traveler's Palms?

OK ! One more to show close up of leaf .

Way high cool. I love the sexy hanger. It's aptly named!

This link shows a lot more .
Sexy Hanger is the last pic.
http://www.bambooland.com.au/gardens.htm

FOF,Its Heliconia sheidiana' Fire and Ice',pretty sure thats what Palmbob has also. It becomes a big clump,almost GBOP like. Well,plenty of 'net photos of it to judge.

Soooooooo !
I was right after all .

So Ginger, you obviously can grow the Heliconias well, what is your microclimate there on the Gold Coast like? How cold does it get in winter?

Not very cold at all .
We are in the tropics here .
I have had one over night frost here in 3 years .
Average Temps. during winter is 9 deg C .
And that is for less than 60 days .
Day time temps. during this time is 19 to 24 C.

Ginger,your 'Fire and Ice' flower is just enough larger than what i have seen on them here i didn't recognize it. I'm kind of surprised about two things-why not the lobster claw or some other giant Heliconia you can grow in Gods country where you live? and two: YOU had a frost???? That's like hearing Honolulu froze. Isn't the Gold coast near Queensland?
What's you home address so i can Earth Google it?(kidding!!)

Bayarea-what ginger showed is H. rostrada-a hanging heliconia. It is commonly known by it's botanical name "rostrada" and is one of the most common of the hanging heliconias. There is a pink/green one that used to be rarer that is known as "sexy pink". I have never heard of the rostrada being called "sexy hanger" and I suspect that someone, at sometime confused the two a bit.

Fire and Ice is an upright heliconia, and you are right, it (and the psittacorum family) have the most chance of making it in California. It is supposed to be the most cold hardy of all the heliconias.

So Lily do you think that the rostrada would grow here in So. Cal? I have a pretty temperate microclimate where I live, plus the added protection of a pool I can heat in winter to keep the backyard from freezing. So I think I could do a rostrada if they are borderline 10b+ like I am...

Terry, you are just a beacon of knowledge! Thanks for all that you do and share with the plant community!

fof-I think the hanging heliconias need warmer weather than some of the uprights. I am talking about nights that never go below 50-and even then not for long periods of time. Some of the uprights need the warmer temps as well-like the caribaeas ( the huge blooms that come in red or yellow)

If I were you, and you really wanted to give the heliconia family a try ( god knows I am-in containers and in grhouses...lol more out of experiment than any expectation that the majority will bloom for me, although there are some that have and might) I would start with the more cold hardy ones and the psittacorums which bloom fast out of the gate.
The Fire and Ice would be good-although I just read that Palmbob's defoliated this past winter-does it every winter? and does it bloom each summer, regardless of the winter temps? It is one thing to have foliage ( or have it come back from being defoliated by cold temps) and another to actually grow well and bloom in a consistent manner.
The dwarf Jamaican will bloom for you in the summer-it does here for me in the ground, and in containers throughout the winter. It is a nice little bloom http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/121179/#121179

here is the fire and ice http://www.mulu.co.uk/images/heliconia_fire_ice_med.jpg

I would try the xmas heliconias as well-they are fairly prolific bloomers too and they come in yellow or red
http://www.paramountplants.co.uk/images/Heliconia_angusta_Yellow_Christmas_000.jpg

Any of the psittacorums are worth a try. I would be interested in how they do in your yard. But I seriously doubt that you want to turn the pool heater on every time the night temps go below 50.....
Try googling "coldhardy heliconias" and see what happens. Heliconias-in warm areas are very easy to grow.

Fire and Ice is a hardy evergreen all over SouCal,the Bay Area and milder parts of the central valley. This year was not cold enough to do much more than frost fronds. I have Dwarf Jamaican, Tiger lill,and i agree its a great little plant. A little fussy indoors,not being in the "Pothos" category of easy indoor plants-ha. In a greenhouse a fast grower and always divideable to give away. I also have grown the Christmas Heliconia in a greenhouse-never got to try it outdoors. It looks so much to me(the red and white one) like a bird of paradise in flower and foliage. I gave a division to somebody who said she was keeping it in a pot outdoors here. Don't know how its fared over the last three years-the last i heard from her...

So Bayarea-does the Fire and Ice bloom well during the summer? I guess thats the question. I think Fond wants blooms-as would I! lol If the Fire blooms well, then I would move on to more temp sensitive types of heliconias, like the strictas etc.
Also gingers are good bloomers and most of them will tolerate the cooler temps of Cal. Both my shell ginger and variegated shell ginger came back this summer-I was blown away by that-I would have bet money that they would not. They will probably never bloom here, but its fine to experiment. Anyway-Fond, I would look into the gingers-there are a lot of neat ones besides the hedychiums.

I'd never considered Heliconias before, but now I'm eager to try the H. sheideana and H. psittacorum. What would it's sun/shade requirements be? I want to make sure I have a good place for them.

I think I might even give H. sheideana a try here.

It's interesting that this GBOP/Ravenala thread has turned into a "I wanna grow Heliconias" thread! LOL Where are the palm police? Are they mad we're talking about tropicals on here?
I guess if I had my preferences in Heliconia blooms, this is the order of what I like best:

1) rostrana
2) stricta
3) psittacorum
4) shiedeana (yes, it is "I" before "E" on that one, Terry. And I believe they need full sun, don't they?)

But as reality sets in, it looks like I should try the 3 and 4 varieties first, just to see if I can get them to grow at my place.

here is some info on the Heliconia schiedeana 'Fire and Ice' http://www.tropic.ca/E-F-G-H-I-J/Heliconia%20schiediana.htm

I have a few in pots-I may even leave one outside in a protected area this winter.

here is a list of some of the ones that I have in pots-that I chose because of their ability to easily bloom

Dwarf Jamaica
Firebird
Lady Di
Fire and Ice
distans
andromeda
golden torch
aemygdiana
wagneriana ( this one is getting into the med size)

Some of the above of psittacorums and some are small blooming size heliconias

Most of the heliconias can be grown in some shade or full sun. If in full sun, the older leaves may "shock" and burn, but the new leaves will be fine. They are fairly heavy feeders, so a good slow release fert will help, and they need water.

Hey FoF: You started the thread with a nonpalm. It had nowhere else to go.

Ginger749: You threw gasoline on the fire by providing such great photos.

tigerlily123 and BayAreaTropics: This travesty of a Palm and Cycad thread would have been impossible without all your great information, personal experience, and links.

well I mean, the Ravenala even though it's not a true palm, at least it's common name has "palm" in it.
Yeah that Ginger is a real troublemaker isn't she? She got us all fired up on the Heliconias! Now I can't wait to get started growing some...
Tigerlily and BAT, many thanks to you guys. I'm glad I posted this thread on the Palms & Cycads forum, b/c we might not have gotten such great info anywhere else.

I have seen fire and ice in bloom in winter and summer.Oakland is usually frost free.This year right after the freeze they were still in bloom (and Brugmansia's too-a tribute to Oakland's mildness).
One thing about F&I is that they do best in full sun.Otherwise they grow very tall without blooming as well.Too much shade and of course, no blooms.
No problemo on the answers! your welcome.
One final..Dwarf Jamaican is really great because the flower is 3/4 the height of the plant. Don't even try it outdoors in a California winter..nights in the high fortys are fatal.