Question on a BOP - which one is it?

[slshank0216]

Hi folks, new here!

I have what I believe is a white bird. I have had it for about 3 years now. It is a potted plant that gets moved from my back proch to my living room in winter. It has never flowered, but I read that potted birds are hard to flower.:(

I say I believe it is a white bird, because that is what I think was on the tag when I bought it. Well it seems to be heatlhy and growing like crazy. That is why I am now wondering if it is a white bird - and is a white bird the same a a GBOP?

The new growth shoots up from the center of the core of leaf shoots. The newer growth (last years) is now reaching 6 feet tall. This has had the effect of now causing the entire stems to lean and all of the leaf stems to twist.

So the question is, how do I tell if this is a white bird? and, should I prune out the tall growth to manage the plants?

Also, (am I over my question limit yet?) there are 3 plants in the large pot. I repotted it this past spring because it looked crowded in the old pot. I went from a 14" to a 22" pot. The plants are only inches apart. I thought about separating them when I re-potted, but being unknowledgeable and fearful of damaging this plant I have nurtured for 3 years, I left it alone. Should the plants be separated?

Thanks!

[Newt]

Hi Slslank,

I'm going to start with your question:

...am I over my question limit yet?

No limit, so ask away!

First let me say that using abbreviations when talking 'plant talk' makes it very difficult to know just what you are talking about, but my guess is you are talking about the white Bird of Paradise aka Strelitzia nicolai, since you mention "white bird". I don't know what a GBOP is. Would that mean green bird of paradise?

Sad to tell you that the white bird probably will never bloom as a house plant. It can take them many years before they are mature enough to bloom outdoors. You might have success if you can give it temps of about 40*F for about 3 weeks in winter, but don't expect too much in the flower department. Here's some helpful info on these plants.
http://www.plant-care.com/white-bird...a-nicolai.html

I think the twisting you are seeing is because the pot isn't deep enough. The problem with these plants when grown indoors is there just isn't enough room for them in most traditional pots. Try doing a google search with the term:
repot white bird of paradise

Newt

[slshank0216]

Thanks for the information Newt. I have been reading online a good bit about these plants, trying to learn as much as I can. On some sites, they refer to a GIANT Bird of Paradise and a White Bird of Paradise as one in the same.???

When I repotted the plant this past spring, it went into a HUGE pot. The pot is 22" in diameter and at least that deep. The root system on the plant coming out of the old pot (14") had wrapped around the bottom of the pot and actually encapsulated the stone I had put in the bottom of the pot for drainage. I was able to remove the stone from the roots without damaging them.

The twisting I am seeing seems to be a result of the heavy, massive leaves following gravity. The stem leans to the side. The leaves seem to have been pulled in the same direction and lower older leaves no longer line up laterally with the main stem.

How do I manage the size of this plant. I have it on a 7 foot screened porch. The leaves are now touching the ceiling. Should the older lower groth be removed? I have 7 - 9 leaves on each of the 3 plants in this pot, with each plant now shooting a new leaf up from the center of the stem.

[Newt]

Slshank, you are very welcome!

On some sites, they refer to a GIANT Bird of Paradise and a White Bird of Paradise as one in the same.???

Probably, but unless they give the botanical name (Latin), it would be difficult to know for certain. I suspect they are the same as the white grows much larger then it's orange cousin.

When I repotted the plant this past spring, it went into a HUGE pot. The pot is 22" in diameter and at least that deep. The root system on the plant coming out of the old pot (14") had wrapped around the bottom of the pot and actually encapsulated the stone I had put in the bottom of the pot for drainage. I was able to remove the stone from the roots without damaging them.

As long as there are drainage holes in your pot, there really is no need for added stones for drainage. That is really a myth that I suspect started with folks placing broken shards and/or gravel/stones to help keep the potting soil from draining out of the pot.
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda%2...20drainage.pdf

How do I manage the size of this plant. I have it on a 7 foot screened porch. The leaves are now touching the ceiling. Should the older lower groth be removed? I have 7 - 9 leaves on each of the 3 plants in this pot, with each plant now shooting a new leaf up from the center of the stem.

There really is no way to 'control' the size of the plant, but you can 'manage' it as you stated. Yes, you can remove the older and larger leaves, but it will be a constant for you if you continue to grow it indoors. You will end up growing it for the leaves though. Try not to remove more then 15% of live growth each time so you don't shock the plant.

Newt

[slshank0216]

There really is no way to 'control' the size of the plant, but you can 'manage' it as you stated. Yes, you can remove the older and larger leaves, but it will be a constant for you if you continue to grow it indoors. You will end up growing it for the leaves though. Try not to remove more then 15% of live growth each time so you don't shock the plant.
Newt

Is there a preferred way of pruning this plant? While the older leaves are on the outside of the stalk and easy to prune, what about those at the center of the stalk that are reaching my ceiling?

[Newt]

Since you mentioned that you've done alot of reading, you probably realize that the new growth comes from the center of the plant. So pruning the new growth will probably slow it down. I've never grown this plant, but have read that a hard frost will often kill off all the top growth, but new growth appears when the weather warms. So my guess would be that you could cut off all the leaves and have new growth start again.

Newt