Hi,
I have one of the small variety of bird of paradise. I planted it about a year and a half ago. A few months ago it started to get blossoms and I was so excited! For some reason though the blossom forms and gets ready to open but then it doesn't seem to open properly. I water and feed the plant routinely. Can anyone tell my why this is happening and how to fix it?
Thanks!
Bird of Paradise
Do you have photos? That might help identify the problem.
I will try to get some photos today of the plant.
Thanks
Here is a photo of a blossom that did not open properly and a new one forming nearby. The one that is open, I opened the outer layer a couple of days ago but it was too late for it to open properly. Should I open it sooner to help it out? The outer layer seems very tough and thick and I think the delicate blossom is not able to force the petals out for some reason. What do you think?
Thanks
I know that it helps to open the outer layer and tease the bloom up a bit when they are cut and in a vase. I don't cut mine but sometimes buy ones that are not open. I have to pull the covering apart and get the first bloom started upwards. The ones I have in the garden seem to open OK at first, if I want the bloom to continue then I pull off the first set and allow the next one to rise up. I don't know if that makes sense but there are multiple blooms inside one bloom, they open in sequence and if the first one doesn't fall off the others don't come out.
thank you extranjera,
I will try opening the new bloom when it looks like it is ready. Hopefully this will solve my problem. I am not very experienced with Bird of Paradise since this is the first one I've had. I lived in a northern climate all my life and moved to S. Texas about 6 years ago and started gardening down here after we bought this house. I'm learning about what plants grow well here and which ones don't.
The distortion might be from a mineral deficiency. You could try a fertiliser that has trace elements in it.
such as a couple of tbs. of Epsom Salt
The trace elements include a whole range of elements, such as iron, zinc, boron, copper, manganese, iodine, etc. They're usually measured off in parts per million.
Epsom salts is magnesium sulphate, so it only provides magnesium and sulphur. They're macro-elements, along with others like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc., and still essential. But a lot of people do use Epsom Salts and they say it's difficult to over use it, a bit too much has no real adverse effects.
On the other hand, over use of trace elements can be very toxic to plants. However, in fertilisers there's only very small amounts included which aren't likely to cause any problems, unless you have a naturally overloaded soil already, or excessive amounts have previously been added. But too little is a big problem as well.