I just moved into a new home, which has two giant Bird of Paradise
plants. The plants have not been cared for: there is dead foliage and
long weeds within the plant.

Can I cut the leaves back, and how close to the ground?

Any other pointers for caring for the plant?

Thanks,
Bill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLY ORDERS is a mystery novel about a pedophile
priest and two murdered altar boys. The novel
exposes the power of the Catholic Church over
government and media. Issues such as homophobia,
racism, sexism and black vs., white gambling are
apparent in this novel.
http://www.holy-orders.com/

In article , William Redding wrote:
I just moved into a new home, which has two giant Bird of Paradise
plants. The plants have not been cared for: there is dead foliage and
long weeds within the plant.

Can I cut the leaves back, and how close to the ground?

Any other pointers for caring for the plant?

You can take a chain saw to it to divide/remove the underground parts.
If you only want to cut back leaves, do it at ground level. It will come
back (assuming you're in a climate like southern California).

cheers,

Marj

* * *
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science editing services: http://science.tiefert.com/

It all depends on what you mean by giant Bird of Paradise and where you are
on the planet.

Are you referring to the tall arborescent growing type or large clumps of
the common stemless one?

You certainly should remove or cut back the dead leaves and remove the
weeds.

The plants do best with plenty of water and fertilizer to encourage
blooming.


William Redding wrote in message
...
I just moved into a new home, which has two giant Bird of Paradise
plants. The plants have not been cared for: there is dead foliage and
long weeds within the plant.

Can I cut the leaves back, and how close to the ground?

Any other pointers for caring for the plant?

Thanks,
Bill

"Cereoid+10+" wrote
"The plants do best with plenty of water and fertilizer to encourage
blooming."

Can you explain why we are advised when.... having grown them from seed
.....to keep them fairly pot bound and short of food if we want them to
flower, and to wait 7 or 8 years, yet in the ground your advice is what we
would expect.

Seems to be a contradiction.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"Cereoid+10+" wrote
"The plants do best with plenty of water and fertilizer to encourage
blooming."

Can you explain why we are advised when.... having grown them from seed
.....to keep them fairly pot bound and short of food if we want them to
flower, and to wait 7 or 8 years, yet in the ground your advice is what we
would expect.

Seems to be a contradiction.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

Thank you all. I live in central Florida. The plants are abouit 4 feet
hign and about 7 feet across.

Bill




On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:13:03 -0500, William Redding
wrote:

I just moved into a new home, which has two giant Bird of Paradise
plants. The plants have not been cared for: there is dead foliage and
long weeds within the plant.

Can I cut the leaves back, and how close to the ground?

Any other pointers for caring for the plant?

Thanks,
Bill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
HOLY ORDERS is a mystery novel about a pedophile
priest and two murdered altar boys. The novel
exposes the power of the Catholic Church over
government and media. Issues such as homophobia,
racism, sexism and black vs., white gambling are
apparent in this novel.
http://www.holy-orders.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLY ORDERS is a mystery novel about a pedophile
priest and two murdered altar boys. The novel
exposes the power of the Catholic Church over
government and media. Issues such as homophobia,
racism, sexism and black vs., white gambling are
apparent in this novel.
http://www.holy-orders.com/

We are not talking about the same thing. There is more than one species of
"Bird of Paradise" and they fall into two very different groups based on
their growth form and floral characters.

Strelitzia reginae flowers best if pot bound and it can take as long as 7 or
8 years for the plants to re-establish after repotting.

Now if we are talking about arborescent species that grows several feet
tall, that certainly wouldn't be the case unless you want to grow them in
really large tubs. These are usually planted in the ground in warm climates.

I don't have time to list all the species right now. This will give you an
idea of the two types of growth forms in the genus Strelitzia.

http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/bcd/bopspecies.htm

They still flower best when well watered and fertilized. When they bloom,
they are heavy feeders.

Don't be limited by what you know. Learn as much as you can about the
plants.


david wrote in message
...
"Cereoid+10+" wrote
"The plants do best with plenty of water and fertilizer to encourage
blooming."

Can you explain why we are advised when.... having grown them from seed
....to keep them fairly pot bound and short of food if we want them to
flower, and to wait 7 or 8 years, yet in the ground your advice is what we
would expect.

Seems to be a contradiction.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

I have two Strelitzia alba. Both are in relatively small pots, about 12 inches.
They put on growth, but haven't bloomed. I've had them for about 4 years. Are they
hardy here in USDA Zone 8b? I would love them to get as large as they are supposed
to be, but I doubt they are hardy.

Do you think they'll ever bloom in those tiny pots?

Victoria


On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 22:57:29 GMT, "Cereoid+10+" wrote:

We are not talking about the same thing. There is more than one species of
"Bird of Paradise" and they fall into two very different groups based on
their growth form and floral characters.

Strelitzia reginae flowers best if pot bound and it can take as long as 7 or
8 years for the plants to re-establish after repotting.

Now if we are talking about arborescent species that grows several feet
tall, that certainly wouldn't be the case unless you want to grow them in
really large tubs. These are usually planted in the ground in warm climates.

I don't have time to list all the species right now. This will give you an
idea of the two types of growth forms in the genus Strelitzia.

http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/bcd/bopspecies.htm

They still flower best when well watered and fertilized. When they bloom,
they are heavy feeders.

Don't be limited by what you know. Learn as much as you can about the
plants.


david wrote in message
...
"Cereoid+10+" wrote
"The plants do best with plenty of water and fertilizer to encourage
blooming."

Can you explain why we are advised when.... having grown them from seed
....to keep them fairly pot bound and short of food if we want them to
flower, and to wait 7 or 8 years, yet in the ground your advice is what we
would expect.

Seems to be a contradiction.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk