only 1 year old, thought I'd be waiting another!
BOP just bloomed...
Yep, 7 leaves - enough to bloom....
Ann
Ann
It has to have 7 leaves to bloom? Does that apply to the drawf BOP?
Jeri
I was informed by the MG at my reputable nursery that a BOP must have at least 5 leaves to bloom and that is what I have gone by. Don't know about the other BOP - just the orange and blue. I think that if a BOP is mature enough to bloom it has at least 5 leaves. One of my DILs has also experienced the same thing. When I bought a new plant this year I made sure it had 5 leaves and sure 'nuff it has sent me 6 flowers so far and now has 7 leaves. ????
Ann
I had never heard that but will start to look and see if mine have 5 leaves.
Thanks
Jeri
pardon my ignorance...what is a BOP?
Bird Of Paradise...lol...ooops.....sorry
This message was edited Oct 28, 2006 2:38 PM
Wow that explains why mine has not done anything. I think I have 4 leaves now.
Feed your BOP a high nitrogen fert. Worked for me. Just counted the leaves on mine and now I have 14 which probably accounts for the number of blooms it has and the "bulbs" - if that is what they are - have doubled from one to two.
Ann
Ann
Is your BOP in the ground or do you bring it in? Mine is in the ground and about the time it gets 5 leaves it freezes. It will come back year after year but no blooms.
Jeri
I've never had a BOP freeze. A little frost damage to some of the leaves, but that's all. Mine are always in the ground because, as you probably know, those dudes get pretty heavy when the "bulbs" start multiplying and I just can't mess w/them. They are less likely to get permanently damaged if they are kept watered and in the ground.
Ann
Mine are in the ground but I cut them down to the ground each year b/c the leaves look so burnt after winter here. I went from 1 plant to 10 but no flowers. I dug them up and divided them but still no flowers.
Jeri
pheithmeyer that is beautiful! Did you grow it from seeds?? That is a different one with the blue. They usually don't have that right?
:) Donna
From experience I've found that you HAVE to leave the leaves on despite how they look or they will never bloom. We need to learn that just because something doesn't look so good is no reason to go messing w/Mother Nature. I, too, used to cut off the leaves that didn't look good- result: no flowers. So I just put them at the back of my mind, ugly brown leaves and all, and they bloomed as long as I just more or less neglected them. They really don't need a lot of tending or fussing. When they have more than 5 leaves per bulb you can trim off the really brown, dead leaves. Just try it. What have you got to lose? Hope this helps.
Ann
Thanks Ann,
I never knew. They were brown and ugly so I always cut them off. You are right I have nothing to lose so I'll definately give it a try.
Jeri
Very nice! My little grouping finished blooming, the last flower is still attractive now but nothing more this year. One of my plants is separate from the others and I had nothing from it this year but several last year.
They are pretty aren't they?
Donna, plant was in a container with a cluster of 3, each with about 3-5 leaves, from HD about 6 months ago.
Thanks for the info. I think I'll just to admire yours and everyone elses from afar. Would luv to get one but just don't have to room to have one with all the other plants I have. Maybe one day when we build our new home and I get my greenhouse I can have one.
:) Donna
Wow that's a beauty. I 'adopted' a BOP from my grandmother a few years ago, she says it's close to 15 years old now, and it's never bloomed. I tried feeding it really well this past year and then again this year, but still nothing. It has two dozen or more leaves and is in a 16" pot. Not sure what's wrong with it :( I also have a baby BOP as well with 10 leaves, but it seems far to young to bloom yet and it is also in a pot.
Do they have to be in the ground to bloom? I have always brought them inside before the first frost here also. Is that a mistake? My smaller plant also seems to have leaf traffic jams. The newest leaves (the last 4) have all jotten jammed in the stem and come out looking really rugged.
This message was edited Oct 30, 2006 1:04 PM
They should bloom in a pot or in the ground. Would suggest repotting, making sure they get enough sun and then fertilize throughout the blooming period w/ a good balanced fertilizer. When I say repot, it doesn't mean that they need a larger pot, that I couldn't say w/o seeing them, but giving them some fresh soil now and then is a great idea. I have never had getting mine to bloom, I don't baby them. Have noticed some strange leaf growth on mine occassionally but haven't been sure what to attribute that to.
If the plants are in the ground would mulch heavily before winter hits, but if they are in pots then you do have to bring them in before frost because the roots are more at risk in a pot than in the ground.
Hope this helps.
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this stunted leaf thing has bothered me. Here's two shots I just snapped of it. I think this is still a relatively young BOP. I bought it from a guy in HI two years ago, but I have no idea how old it was then... I'd say probably 2-4 years.
This first shot shows the whole plant, and you can see the real tall narrow leaves that are stunted.
This shot shows the stalk, where even the newest leaf appears to be stunted as well. Not sure what's wrong with it. It had plenty of sun this summer and still does, plus I fed it well. I water it well also.
Keonikale, my BOP has leaves that look somewhat like that. I've had mine in container for 4 years, and it has it's 4th and 5th bloom spikes. The leaves are always sort of folded up. But I'm continually getting new leaves, so I don't worry about it.
Agree w/ stressbaby- if you think about most of plants, unless you are growing for a compettitive show, most are not picture perfect. Nature doesn't really produce perfect and if you are aiming for perfect in all probability you will be disappointed.
As long as it's growing and appears healthy it's within the realm of "normal'- unless of course you believe the folded/bunched leaves are a response to disease or infestation. I don't know of many pests that BOP have- I have never used pesticide on mine or found any bugs and Houston is a buggy area.
Thanks for the posts. Sounds like it's fine then. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll eventually see a bloom on it.
BTW, the only problem I've ever had with BOP's is scales. And that was only on the giant White BOP we have. I never have completely gotten rid of those pesky things, but as soon as I eliminated most of them the plant exploded with growth putting up 6-8 new leaves in the same time frame it has previously put up just one.