Fast growing flower?

[Lorimadnes]

Hello again!

Skittles is going great and he's quickly becoming the boss of the household but I've come to ask for your assistance once more.

Ive been trying to find fresh flowers for my lorikeet to no avail. The ones I did find that are appropriate for rainbows to eat, the seller couldn't say whether or not pesticides and insecticides were used while growing them.

My bird's diet right now is lots of fresh apples and grapes and Nekton lori powder. I'm afraid that this diet may not be appropriate for the long term as I hear that 70% of a wild lorikeets diet consists of flowers.

Is there a plant that's indigenous to Australia, appropriate for lories to eat and that doesn't take a long time to flower? Been doing research on the flowers they eat and they all seem to come from massive trees. Not going to be something I can easily grow in an apartment.

any ideas?

 

[MommyBird]

I like to garden for hummingbirds, so you made me think! It does seem like they are all large trees!
I am speaking from this article What Do Rainbow Lorikeets Eat? (Complete Guide)
I know hibiscus would be easy to grow in an apartment but it would not necessarily flower quickly.
Have you looked into some of the flowers hummingbirds like? Some have the nectar in spurs which I'm not sure is a lorikeet's tongue could reach, they'd have to bite it off.
Nasturtium would be a fast-growing one to consider.
Then look into what is available in the salvia (both old- and new-world) and penstemon groups.
I don't know which country or growing region you live in but one plant source to check out would be Flowers by the Sea Nursery

 

[Lorimadnes]

I'm in Malta so quite a ways away from the bird's country of origin. Luckily, our climate is very warm so anything that grows in Australia should grow here.

The problem is that I'm horrible with plants and I live in an apartment. I was looking for a small plant that flowers readily but none of their favourites seem to be fast growing.

Oh man, my first family home had a massive hibiscus tree. Used to love taking flowers from it as a child. I do remember it being massive though, I'm not sure how big it has to be for it to flower.

Haven't checked for hummingbird trees, I mostly just looked at the flowers that lorikeets frequent the most. Guess I just didn't wanna risk giving him a flower which I don't know whether it's good for him. The breeder I bought him from used to feed him only apples and seeds so I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to eat flowers. Bought him a bag of bee pollen from a health shop and he didn't like it at all.

Even getting him to eat new fruits is pretty much impossible. Think he was on apples and seeds for so long that he doesn't even see other fruits as food. I'd love to try something a bit healthier for him like flowers though.

 

[Toy]

What about a hanging Fuchsia plant. They don't require a lot of direct sun, just bright light. I have 4 large hanging plants on my front porch every summer. They hang under roof. They bloom a lot from late May, when I get them, all the way into late October, depending on the weather. We water them in the morning & again at night. About 2 cups each time, as they drink a lot, but don't over water. This is for large 10-12 inch hanging pots/plants. Fertilize using liquid Miracle Grow at half strength once a week. Deadhead to produce more flowers.

Potted hibiscus don't produce as many flowers as in ground, but will bloom in the right conditions. Lots of sun, keep moist, not wet, & fertilize. I have 9 large plants outside & 3 small ones inside. The small ones are a few I started from clippings. They are in 4 inch pots. The downside to potted inside hibiscus is spider mites. Deadhead these as well.

 

[Karija]

Nekton and such is a complete diet (it includes the nutrition they'd get from pollen), so I wouldn't be too worried about it if you're feeding that and nectar. But browse/flowers are great for enrichment!

Given your situation in an apartment, maybe look into flowering house plants that are safe for birds instead of just native plants. If there are nectar/pollen eating birds native to your area, you might think about what people plant locally in your gardens for those birds. An actual plant in dirt is great, but if the plant is able to be grown hydroponic (like in an Aerogarden type set up) that might be the best - they normally develop faster, have a built in light, and all you need to do is to make sure to refill with water (it's normally easy to see when the tank is low). Aerogardens look like this, I have a cheaper/off brand one.

Problem you may run into is preference - I ordered some edible flowers for my bird and he wanted nothing to do with hibiscus but was all over marigolds. So may take some trial and error. My guy is sixteen and had never seen a real flower in his life, but immediately went up to the hibiscus/marigolds-- so even if your guy isn't super adventurous with food, instinct might just kick in. I've grown marigolds using a hydroponic set up and it worked pretty well. It wasn't producing enough to put like a whole plant in his enclosure or anything, but I could offer him a couple flowers a day. When I've gotten edible flowers, they lasted pretty well for 1-2 weeks in the fridge, but that can be cost prohibitive where I am (no local sellers and shipping is expensive). Typically the flowers could be put out for about two days before they were so wilted they needed to be removed but may vary depending on the type of flower.

If you go the hydroponic route and it has a light, just make sure the plant you pick is on the smaller side and won't outgrow it (or if it does, be prepared to cut it back or cycle in new plants). Sometimes the companies that sell those set ups have their own seed pods, but you can normally get ones that aren't pre-seeded that you can add whatever seed you want to. If you are considering it, may want to double check that is offered for the type you are getting.

You can sort this collection of safe/unsafe plants by type, including flowers. Lafeber also has suggestions of houseplant flowers for lorikeets here. Hope that helps! If you have any success with flowers update the post, would love to hear what your guy likes

 

[Xoetix]

The problem is that I'm horrible with plants and I live in an apartment

Hoooooo boy I feel you on this.

Hibiscus is easy though - while I won't say I have a "black" thumb, I will say the only plants I've ever had any success with are plants that are REALLY hard to kill (pothos and Tradescantia zebrina, though neither of those will help you currently but in case you want to try another plant for fun, they live out of spite). But I have been able to grow hibiscus! Not from seed, but I got a starter plant from a local garden center, and while she did get large - about 4-5ft tall - she wasn't as big as I've seen some get. And in the right conditions, they bloom really frequently! If you got two or three, you'd probably be well set.

Here's an article on keeping them small. Do you have a patio or balcony where they could attract bees for pollination?

 

[Lorimadnes]

Nekton and such is a complete diet (it includes the nutrition they'd get from pollen), so I wouldn't be too worried about it if you're feeding that and nectar. But browse/flowers are great for enrichment!

Given your situation in an apartment, maybe look into flowering house plants that are safe for birds instead of just native plants. If there are nectar/pollen eating birds native to your area, you might think about what people plant locally in your gardens for those birds. An actual plant in dirt is great, but if the plant is able to be grown hydroponic (like in an Aerogarden type set up) that might be the best - they normally develop faster, have a built in light, and all you need to do is to make sure to refill with water (it's normally easy to see when the tank is low). Aerogardens look like this, I have a cheaper/off brand one.

Problem you may run into is preference - I ordered some edible flowers for my bird and he wanted nothing to do with hibiscus but was all over marigolds. So may take some trial and error. My guy is sixteen and had never seen a real flower in his life, but immediately went up to the hibiscus/marigolds-- so even if your guy isn't super adventurous with food, instinct might just kick in. I've grown marigolds using a hydroponic set up and it worked pretty well. It wasn't producing enough to put like a whole plant in his enclosure or anything, but I could offer him a couple flowers a day. When I've gotten edible flowers, they lasted pretty well for 1-2 weeks in the fridge, but that can be cost prohibitive where I am (no local sellers and shipping is expensive). Typically the flowers could be put out for about two days before they were so wilted they needed to be removed but may vary depending on the type of flower.

If you go the hydroponic route and it has a light, just make sure the plant you pick is on the smaller side and won't outgrow it (or if it does, be prepared to cut it back or cycle in new plants). Sometimes the companies that sell those set ups have their own seed pods, but you can normally get ones that aren't pre-seeded that you can add whatever seed you want to. If you are considering it, may want to double check that is offered for the type you are getting.

You can sort this collection of safe/unsafe plants by type, including flowers. Lafeber also has suggestions of houseplant flowers for lorikeets here. Hope that helps! If you have any success with flowers update the post, would love to hear what your guy likes

Thanks for the links! I was mostly looking at native Australian species only because I'm afraid to give him anything I'm not 100% is safe for him. The list in those links gives me more options. I've heard about some paralysis disease that lorikeets in Australia are prone to get and the best guess right now is that it's a flower they're eating that's making them sick. I wasn't going to risk giving him anything I wasn't sure he could eat.

I definitely know what you mean with them being picky and truth be told, I'm expecting him to refuse every flower I try to give him. His diet is already extremely limited in terms of fruit variety as he'll only eat apples and grapes. I've even tried buying dried fruit and bee pollen, he refused every single one.

Hoooooo boy I feel you on this.

Hibiscus is easy though - while I won't say I have a "black" thumb, I will say the only plants I've ever had any success with are plants that are REALLY hard to kill (pothos and Tradescantia zebrina, though neither of those will help you currently but in case you want to try another plant for fun, they live out of spite). But I have been able to grow hibiscus! Not from seed, but I got a starter plant from a local garden center, and while she did get large - about 4-5ft tall - she wasn't as big as I've seen some get. And in the right conditions, they bloom really frequently! If you got two or three, you'd probably be well set.

Here's an article on keeping them small. Do you have a patio or balcony where they could attract bees for pollination?

I'll definitely be trying the hibiscus, thanks for the suggestion!

I do have a balcony that gets lots of sun on one side of it so it should do well there as long as I don't kill it of thirst. Lets just hope I don't kill it he accepts the gift