Just got my first one today!! It's about 5 feet tall already. I am curious about growing this one, since I'm in 7b.
Anyone done a hardiness trial for this one in zone 8-7 maybe?
I assume I just give it lots of feeding, sun and water, like most tropicals right?
How tall does it have to be before it blooms?
I read in plantfiles that someone with a 7 foot tall plant had blooms.
Thanks!
White Bird of Paradise?
I have Strelitzia reginae which is a little hardier than the white BOP, and it makes it through winters in 9b with usually only minor damage, but I can't picture something slightly less hardy making it in zone 7 or 8 unless you have a seriously warm microclimate (or a nice greenhouse/sunroom to overwinter it in). Most of the info I've seen on it says it's hardy to zone 10.
Tropicana,
Your white bird will live through temps at 32* for a couple hours. 6-7 hours below 32 will turn it to brown. Temps below 25 will kill the roots and stem. It will recover from light frost pretty fast, heavy frost will take months to recover.
Oh well, my imagination gets the best of me sometimes!
I do have a greenhouse-just got one for Christmas, and should have the heat worked out by then!
Thanks for the feedback, ya'll!
Still wondering how big it needs to be before blooming, light requirements, feeding, etc.
I have a very small clump, 3 plants at 3', that survived 28 degrees for several hours for several days in a row. New growth was shot but older leaves stayed green and they are starting to grow again now.
Lynn where did you get your white one?
I actually got mine in a 6" pot at the houseplant dept in HD. I'm pretty certain that's Awanda just bought at costco, 3 nice plants for like $18 or so.
I got mine at Lowe's for a decent price -yes, I would have gone to a nursery, but our locals don't really carry tropicals.
So azreno-what are the light, water, fert. requirements?
Hmmmmmmm........it's in the ground in a shady spot and I water it once in a while? Giggle, I'm not much help, huh?
Mine is about 20 feet tall....has been blooming steadily for about 8 months.....Although I'm in zone 9b, we get a one time frost for about 3 days, once a year. (No hard freezes usually. Once every couple of years we get one for a night or 2) I know mine is about 15 years old. I think it took a good many years before blooming for the first time, but I also completely ignore it, so it never gets fertilizer or any special attention.
I keep mine in the gh over winter. It has never bloomed for me, but I was told last year not to cut off the leaves when they start getting ratty. It has to have 6-7 leaves to bloom. I'm hoping that will happen this summer.
Thanks, Linda-was looking for someone close to our neck of the woods!lol
Good to know about the leaves, too!
I read somewhere not to cut the leaves off Bird of Paradise even if they get ratty looking because it has to have a least 5-7 leaves before it will bloom.
That is very helpful info-thanks
Tropicanna,
I will relate my greenhouse experience, FWIW. I had a three trunk white BOP, Strelitzia nicolai, in the ground in the GH. Nice foliage effect, but it grew so massive that it shaded everything. My reading cited 9-10 feet as minimum blooming height, but since you never see one blooming in a hobby GH, I dug mine up. I always heard that the 5-7 leaf rule applies to regular BOP, Strelitzia reginae.
Anyone need a White BOP, single trunk?
SB
I let my white BOP (in a 24 inch pot) out last winter because I hated carrying it back and forth into the basement where winter claimed it. It would put out new leaves every summer and then they usually were so ugly by the next year that I ended up cutting those off. Anyway, good riddance. White BOP would be nice in a tropical climate in the ground but it just doesn't make a good houseplant. Too large and too ugly.
I have the regular BOP that I don't mind carrying in and out of the garage because at least it blooms and stays at a managable size.
White BOP (2001 - 2005 RIP).
I love my White Birds, but getting it to bloom indoors will be a challenge. I have one in a 20" pot that must have 10-14 leaves on it, and it's never bloomed. It's a huge plant and takes up A LOT of space downstairs. I have a smaller one up stairs and I also have one here at work. When they are small they are really nice, but when they get larger they can take over. I've also noticed my bird inside only grows new leaves in the Spring (my smaller plants grow leaves all year). The large one tends to wait until Spring though and then releases 4-6 new leaves all at once. It's a 3-stem plant.
I do trim off my yellow leaves from time to time, but I doubt that's my reason for not having it bloom. Indoors it just cannot get the ideal conditions it needs.
One pest to watch out for is scales. They are a pain to try and get off the plant, especially if they get down in the stem near the base of the plant.
stressbaby-where were you when I was wanting this plant the past two years?lol
Okay-so now I am giving up hope of seeing any blooms or growing it outside (I'm in total zone denial)-
But freak miracles can happen and for now I Iove the plant- I'm happy to hear from others in this neck of the country. Thanks everyone
Keonikale is dead on regarding the scale. I had the same problem. They are tough to get rid of if they get down in the bases of the leaves.
Gosh, I feel guilty about really liking my BOP now, lol....
Maybe because I'm in Florida and just let it grown in my yard (completely ignored by me) is the reason it does so well? It never stops blooming, but is also probably 1-20 years old....
Stress, I'd be happy to take yours off your hands!
MMary
They bloom(here anyway) in the late Winter Spring and mine is as big as a room in diameter and about 28 ft tall...flowers always! but took about 4/5 years to do that....the big huge seeds in the Beak of the flower grow easily if you can get them out ...which is hard...the flowers are huge!
I put mine in the ground about 3 years ago and it has never bloomed. I'm going to move it to a sunnier location in a few weeks. I'm gonna try some blooming food to see if that helps it. But, it has done fine in what little cold weather we get here.