In general, Heliconias are evergreen in the Tropics and warm Subtropics, like zone 10. Further north, upper zone 9 and lower zone 8, they may be frozen back to the ground each Winter but survive to resprout the next Spring.
The flowers are pretty and round. They are bright yellow. The fruit of the Cotton Tree is a brownish capsule that opens at maturity and exposes the seeds that are covered with a white fibre, the cotton.