Lovely!!!!

I'm envious.

I have a white bird in my back yard, probably 7 feet in diameter and overflowing with pups, but it's never reached more than 9 feet in height, and that's counting the upright leaves.

Plant is probably between 5-10 years old. It got hit pretty hard by the extreme cold front we had here in FL 2-4 years ago, but it's never been "large" like many of the other white birds I've seen around here. I'm starting to wonder if this white BoP is one of those supposed "dwarf" ones often found in the big box stores.

I'll have to research that. Don't know if there really are dwarf White Birds of Paradise, or if it's just a marketing thing for houseplants.

I purchased a 3 footer in 2007 from the local HomeDepot, and planted in in full sun in an area in my courtyard that gets water regularly. I do not feed it.

I now have 3 trunks that are past 16' and 2 pups that are heading toward 6' in height. They bloom regularly, but had to be sprayed in the fall because they were infested with White Fly and the leaves started to shrivel & the 'birds' were not opening. They're doing well again.

I love the look, but have to selectively chop back the pups or it would take over the courtyard. Just this year, the pups have been forming 'birds'.

Thanks kayjones. Do you grow them in you area?

Foreverlad,

I just did a quick google and it seems there's a dwarf variety of the white bird of paradise, but I suspect that most of them carried by the big box companies are the large ones unless they specify them as dwarf. I think the dwarf variety might be a more exotic one .. only guessing here.

When I bought a few from a local nursery here, the owner told me to give them a lot of water and they'll grow like weeds. It seems he was right. The last year was a very wet season and that's how the growth really took off fast. I planted some of them along the fence line and a few has grown over 10-12 ft tall now. I've seen them growing really big .. like 20-30 ft or so. They even develop a trunk. There are a couple of pictures posted here that I've found online. It's incredible. One of them even looks like the traveler's palm which I wasn't able to keep it alive when I planted it here a few years back.

Do you plant yours in a sunny location? It seems that a sunny location will speed up their growth. There used to be an Oak tree that block a lot of sun from them in the previous years. When the tree was gone, they were a lot happier. I do hope yours will bloom for you soon. Do you have pictures of yours to post?

OK, I found a link here that might be useful:

Here is a link that might be useful: Growth rate of the giant white bird of paradise

Another Giant White Bird of Paradise .. almost 3-storey high!

Beverly27,

Thanks for sharing about your plant. It's a nice looking plant you have there. Did you plant it in a sunny location? It seems they like the sun so much. It's amazing that your pups are even blooming! Mine didn't bloom for me until now ... at a height of 8-10ft. There are a group of them planted on a garden raised bed and along the fence line. The reason I attritbuted their ability to bloom this year is due to better sun exposure after a disease tree was removed and the prolonged wet season we've had last year.

And yes, I do agree that these plants can take over ... (looking at the pictures I've found and posted before this post). So, it's a wise move to remove some of the pups.

Bananafan,

Apologies for the delay. Lost track of this thread. The WBoP in my yard gets 10-12 hours of sun a day. There's no irrigation around it, and the soil (if you can call it that) is mostly hydrophobic florida sand (or dust, really).

As I've been renovating the yard, I've intended on laying a few bags of compost/manure around the base and trying to get a regular watering scheme in place. Hopefully I'll get around to it soon.

There are numerous BoP around here that reach up into the sky. Nice, thick old woody trunks, with an appearance that almost matches a traveler palm, like you said. When I realized just how big these things were, I started doubting the ones in my yard were the white variety, but sure enough, they were.

If I get a chance, I snap a few photos of my 'lil stand of paradise and show you what I'm working with.

I planted two BoP that I purchased from Lowes last July in a full sun location outdoors. It's been 6 months and there isn't even a sign of new growth. Both just remain the same as the day they were planted. We've had a lot of rain and receive additional watering from our sprinkler system twice a week. Why haven't they grown? I live in Vero Beach Fl and I see many BoP's thriving in our neighborhood.

My bird of paradise is maybe 4 years Looks lovely and I do like it in the spot I planted it Am waiting yet, and patiently, for it to flower