Indoor care for my Giant Bird of Paradise

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RikerBear Seattle, WA(Zone 8b) Jan 12, 2005

Anyone have any good tips on keeping my BofP happy in the house? I have had it now for going on three years....it does fine, and appears health however the leaves tend to break off after they reach a few months in age.
I have tried staking them and tieing them to a trellis, but they still bow/crease/break. The poor thing is always in a state of regrowth. Right now I have four beautiful leaves on it, and wonder just how long those will last :-(
Any tips for a good trellis or support design for plants like this?

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Gitagal Baltimore, MD(Zone 7a) Jan 24, 2005

Hi, Bear,

Not sure this will be of help to you, but some plants with large leaves just go through the cycle of---"grow a new one--drop an old one". Like most Palms, especially the Majesty Palm! That's what their tree trunks come from on Palms. Each notch on the stem was once a leaf attached.....

I DO know that BOP are very succeptible to Mealy Bugs. Try not to ever let tham settle on your plant!! Too many crooks and crannies for them to hide into. Keep the leaves clean and sprayed. Keep checking for infestations! Apply a Systemic for the future.

A lot of the new, bottom leaves on a BOP (especially if it was recently purchased) just whither and dry off. Eventually, these plants will have a lot of L-O-N-G stems with one leaf on top. That's what makes it beatiful! The airiness of it! The splitting of the leaves is natural! Of course, the less you handle it, the less they will split! BUT! This will not hurt them in any way.

Gitagal

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