Bird of Paradise Culture

The bird of paradise is a popular and well-known subtropical plant. Its exotic, orange flowers are unmistakable. In warm climates it's actually a common garden plant, and in cooler climates it makes a good houseplant, a patio plant during the summer. These plants are expensive blooming size but can sometimes be found cheaper as younger plants. Not only are they usually imported, but take at least 3-5 years from seed to reach marurity; this is the reason for their high prices. Seed is readily available but difficult to germinate.

As a houseplant, the bird of paradise likes bright light and as such makes a great heated sunroom plant. South and west windows work too. Outside it prefers full sun. It should be watered generously in the summer, less in winter. Bird of paradise does not like dry soil. Fertilizer should never be applied copiously as this causes excessive foliage and few flowers. However, the occasional feeding (every 2-3 weeks, less in winter) is needed. Use a balanced all-purpose formula. This plant likes to be potbound and as such should only be repotted if absolutely necessary. They seem to flower more in this state. Use a high quality potting soil mix or tropical mix. Bird of paradise usually flowers from late winter into summer, but they can bloom throughout the year. The flowers last several weeks.

There are three main bird of paradise species, Strelitzia reginae (common bird), S. alba (white bird) and S. nicolai (giant bird). A popular variety of S. reginae, 'Mandela's Gold', exists which has a compact habit and exceptionally bright flowers. Both S. alba and S. nicolai have larger, white flowers, and have a larger habit than S. reginae; S. nicolai grows much like a tree and can reach 30 feet in height. It obviously doesn't make a very good houseplant. S. reginae grows 3-4' tall and S. alba grows 5-6'. S. alba is commonly seen in nurseries, often mislabeled as S. nicolai. The distinguishing feature of S. nicolai is its tough trunk.

The easiest method of bird of paradise propagation is by divison. Only divide large, mature clumps. Divisons can take 1-2 years to bloom. Seed propagation is another method. You can buy a package of seeds pretty much anywhere for around $5, compared to prices of mature plants up to $250 that I've seen. However, seed propagation is a slow process that requires much patience. By no means is it as complex and skill-demanding as orchid seed propagtion, but it isn't like sowing sweet peas. The seeds are about the size of sweet pea seeds though, and have a hard covering, and an orange tuft of hairs on the end. They must have these tufts removed, then be soaked in lukewarm water for 24 hours, and scarified with a file or knife. At this point the seeds should be lightly pressed into a 1:1 mix of sand and potting soil, and kept moist and humid under a dome, in diminished light and at room temperature. They will take 1-3 months to germinate. Once the seedlings have 3 or 4 true leaves, they should be pricked out and planted in small pots of seedling mix. They should then be repotted as needed.

Follow-up to Amaryllis Culture

The above photo shows a close-up of one of the flowers on my Hippeastrum Hadeco 'Symphony Red'. It is 7 inches wide. This is my only amaryllis, in its second year under my culture. Next year I plan to increase my collection of these.