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Florida Gardening

Bird of Paradise question

9 years ago

Just moved into a house and inherited a white BOP. The smaller stalks are healthy and blooming but the older, taller ones (the ones more than ' tall) have hardly any leaves. There is new growth pushing up but they look a big ragged. They've probably been neglected for some time. What should I do to improve it? I've never grown BOP before. I don't know if I should throw fertilizer at it or if they can be pruned. Thanks!

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Comments (2)

fawnridge (Ricky)
9 years ago
Yes, you can prune it and prune it hard. New growth will come up from below. Fertilizer will make it grow a bit faster and have a darker green color, but your real enemy is the wind. Even a slight gust can tear the fragile leaves. BOP rarely looks good unless it's in a place where little to no wind can get at it.
timzoneten
Original Author
9 years ago
Great, thank you! And just to clarify, by prune it hard you do mean I can cut those stalks back a couple of feet, right?
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