Bird of Paradise Care Guide

Family: Strelitziacaea

Genus: Strelitzia

Botanical Name: Strelitzia nicolai

Difficulty: Can be tempermental

Light

Birds of paradise are big fans of bright light conditions. Don’t worry if you can’t provide them with super bright light though because they also do fairly well in places that receive medium to bright light.

Water

Give your plant a while to dry out the topsoil before watering them. They like to be kept slightly moist near the roots, but be careful not to water them too often to maintain that.

Climate

These guys do not tolerate cold or drafts well! They love humidity and you should embrace that by keeping a pebble tray underneath their pot and misting the leaves as needed. However, they will tolerate and do considerably well in regular household humidity levels as long as they are kept away from drafts of cold air.

Soil

They grow pretty quickly, so feed them with a fertilizer bi-weekly, but be careful not to overfeed them and burn the roots. They love a well-draining soil mix with a perlite added to it to help the soil air itself out.

Pests and Diseases

Like many other large-leaved plants, you should check underneath your bird of paradise leaves when dusting them to make sure there are no pests hiding out underneath. They can be bothered by the occasional mealybug, scale, leaf blight, and root rot.

Tips

• Put aeration stones in the bottom of your pot before potting your bird of paradise.

• If you can’t bear to turn down your AC, group your bird of paradise with other houseplants to keep the humidity levels higher and mist them more frequently.

• Prune old leaves to make room for the newer ones that are using up all the plants energy.

• Use supports once your plant gets large enough to start leaning over.

• Dust the leaves to help them photosynthesize to their full capability!

Signs your plant is no longer living in paradise

• Droopy leaves: over watered

• Brown, excessively splitting leaves: over watered

• Brown leaves: not enough light

• Crispy leaves: underwatered

• Yellowing leaves: Over-watered

Fun Facts

• Birds of paradise can produce large white flowers that resemble cranes when they are kept outdoors in the proper conditions.

• They can grow up to 20 feet tall!

• They are cousins to the banana plant, which they are often mistaken for.

• In some cultures, their leaves are used as plates.