Migrating Bird

JoAnn -- If it would make it through the winter here (Raleigh NC), I'd put her in the ground. But I think that'd be too risky, given I'm a zone and a half off from the recommendation for this type of plant to be winter hardy. I thought I'd keep her in the greenhouse, but I think she's too tall for that even now.

When you say "disbturbing the roots as little as possible, do you mean I should try to take the contents as they are now and just put them in the pot and surround with new soil (in other words, not break up the soil around the roots right now)?

Thanks much for the advice!

jlj072174, your description of disturbing the roots as little as possible is exactly what I mean.

Yes morning sun and then gradually into full sun in a few weeks!

Thank you!

Thanks for the info on repotting.....I have one that is in desperate need of repotting. Will do the same.....bigger pot....add soil.....do not disturb roots! Got it!

Guess what I picked up tonight at Lowes -- strelitzia reginae! I couldn't believe they had them. I'd searched through there on every trip I've made there for months (I'm in there at least once or twice a week), and low and behold, tonight, I spotted two of them in the back of their new plants that have arrived -- almost like someone stashed them in the way back to hide them so they could buy them later. I've been on the hunt for this variety (even though I love the white bird I picked up the other night) as it's what we had in Arizona and I missed them, my daughter snapped a picture of me on her cell phone while I was hugging the plants. LOL

I feel like I just won the Powerball! :-)

Tropic -- question for you -- when you move your's outside for the warmer months, do you place them in full sun, part, or dappled?

This message was edited May 1, 2009 8:58 PM

You have to post the picture of you and your new children!

I have a row of yellow groove bamboo that runs the length of the driveway,it provides great dappled shade for all my plants when I first bring them outside to harden off,for a couple weeks then she goes in full sun,until I bring her back in for the winter.

I haven't downloaded the picture from my daughter's camera, but here is a picture of the newest additions to the family. The two on the right are the orange birds; the one on the left is another white bird that appeared jealous the others were getting a new forever home, so I decided to bring her home, too. :)

Here are the bottoms of the plants. I'm wondering if they're root bound enough they might bloom (in which case, I might wait to repot them) or if they're too much so that they should be put in new pots now. Note the white bird (left) roots have force the container to be more a little more oval vs. round due to the growth. Lots of baby leaves at the bottoms as well. Thoughts?

Just Loverly!
Yes go ahead and pot up a size.
Then I wouldn't pot up until the roots fill that pot,hopefully blooms will come before that happens!!!

The plants are in their new pots now, and my daughter said to me last night, "Mom, I mean this in the nicest possible way -- our deck is looking like a tropical rain forest!" LOL

I have a question about fertilizer. What recommendations would you all offer in terms of the BOP? What kind, how often, etc. Thanks much to everyone thus far for their advice! Greatly appreciate it!

20-20-20,is just hard to beat!

My white Bop has been in the same pot I bought it in early last year and it looks like it's getting overcrowded but I'm not sure. I'll take a picture and put it on here after my dd wakes up and I can get the camera. I put my orange one in a bigger pot last year, now I'm wondering if it is too big since you say they like to be root bound. I started it from seed late 2007. Will get a pic of it too for your opinions.

I leave my Bop's in the pots,until it actually bust the pots,and believe me they will crack it clean into,roots are very powerful,thats when I repot mine.
There wasn't very much potting soil left in the pot either,seems rather cruel to me,but sometimes it's stress the throws a hard to bloom plant into a blooming cycle,I to the same
with my bougainvilleas as well.

I just got a bunch of small bougie plant, should put them in small pots? I wanted to put 3 to a pot.

I guess it would be alright,never seen that done before,don't know why you couldn't.

I wanted a sherbert look to the pot with different colors.

We call that Neapolitan here!!!!
Like the ice cream!LOL
Should be pretty!

Tropical Rain Forests are good! My kids and grandkids call ours "the jungle" or NaNa's jungle! haha!

How old do the BOP need to be to bloom. I have a white one about 4ft tall just got today. It has a baby beside it but do not the exact age. Mekos

8 years and still in waiting here!

But your orange one has bloomed, right?

Yes it blooms every year,usually around Xmas time!

I moved mine into the full sun this afternoon. I can't wait until it grows!

Can the white ones live outside in the winter in zone 7, S.C. ? I'm debating putting it in the groun and not sure if it will survive the winter. Do they grow outside in N.C. ? if so they probably will here. How about it? Does anyin N.C. have one outside?

OH and how deep to plant them? Can anyone tell me so I don't kill mine?

I don't think it will survive in zone 7. See the plant files: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2466/.

I always plant everything at the same height as it was growing in the original pot, if not slightly higher. Except tomatoes, of course.

Snapped a few pics this afternoon,here's one of the orange bop,it's about 6ft now,don't know how tall these will get too eventually,of course it's in a 15 gallon pot.

looking good there all of it

Thanks,also getting things lined up for the round up coming May 30th here.

Mine is a mini next to yours, but I'm still proud of it.

Mine was to at one time,it was only a 2 leaf plant when I bought it,but food and fresh air,and plenty of sunshine,she really has grown!

Don- How long have you had yours?

Just guessing 10 yrs maybe!!!!

Don, here are a few of the things that I have grown for the RU,

I have my first BOP flower of the season!! Plus I can see at least 2 more coming. I think this will be a banner year for the flowers.

What is your secret to getting to bloom in the summer time?
Mine always bloom in the late fall and early winter,inside the greenhouse.

Wife just informed me that I too had one in flower as well!!!

Tropicman. What are you feeding that bird of paradise to get it to bloom in such a manner? Ha! ha!