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#302310 Jan 3rd, 2010 at 12:21 PM
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Akhiram Offline OP
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Hello everyone,

I have a 9 foot tall Bird of Paradise tree that I rescued a couple of months ago. As soon as I got it, I repotted it and almost immediately, it grew another stalk. However, the leaves appear to be curling and I have noticed some "pock marks" near the edges. There is definitely no lack of humidity in my loft, as it feels like a greenhouse!

I live in a city that has about 6 months of harsh winter, so this tree only gets medium light facing southeast with about 2 hours of direct sunlight. And since it is winter, I am watering it less, but still misting the leaves and stalks. Nevertheless, the problem still remains. Could it be that it needs more sunlight?

Thanks!
akhiram

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Welcome, Akhirim. It does sound like lack of light may be your problem. See if you can provide more light for it either via window or grow lights. Or maybe both. If it is a regular BOP feed it heavily and regularly.
Do you know the variety of your BOP? Strelitzia reginae usually only grow to about 5-6 ft. S. nicolai are giant BOPs and can grow to 30 ft.


~Tina
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Akhiram Offline OP
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Thank you, Tina. I will try to move it closer to the window, so it receives more sunlight.

After having done some online research, I do believe it is a Strelitzia Nicolai. Do you have any suggestions as to what fertiliser is best?

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For the S. nicolai It does slow down growth in winter so needs much less watering and feeding. I would feed with a regular well rounded house plant food in spring through fall.
Mine is outdoors here in my zone 9, both S. reginae and S. nicolai. I really don't feed them much at all. They have to fend for themselves between times when I think about it. And when I do think about it every six months or less, I use Osmocote.


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Obviously I must have 2 s. nicolai because they're 10.5 ft tall and counting well a couple of stalks got so tall leaf (14" x 36"+) it just fell over seems the plant should be staked. I ended up cutting the stalk as close to the base as possible. now i have another leaf that broke 4" form the stalk but still doing well (it's propped up by wall) can I just cut this off? 4 yrs ago this plant was on death row at a grocery store at 3'-0" tall. what can I do to contain these things? By the way I call them that very lovingly I live in zone 7a-b so outside is not an option though my space is not that warm, doesn't slow them down. Keep them dry this time of year and no food.

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Welcome to you too, PBody. It sounds like you are doing everything you can for your plant. And what I do to mine. When the leaves get wind-shredded or break I cut tham as close to the base as I can. Sometimes you will still have a leaf sheath that browns and dies but that can usually be pulled off later.
As far as containing them I am not too sure. I had two S, nicolai and planted one in the ground. It did not survive and I am pretty sure that was lack of adequate water (I live in a desert situation). The other was in a pot in a place for so long it grew through the pot and into the ground beyond moving. It is not in a bad place So I just cut the pot away and built a raised bed around it (recently).
I also have several S. reginae.


~Tina
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Akhiram Offline OP
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Hi PBody,

Regarding stability, I can tell you that with my 3 long stalks, I ended up loosely tying them together with a pair of my nylons which were then tied to a hook in my wall. Nylons seem to have more give and don't cut through the stalks. Doing all this not only allowed me to prevent any stalks from drooping down or breaking off, but also to direct where I wanted each leaf to be positioned for aesthetic purposes.

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Thanks guys really appreciate your input guess I'll just keep working with these things and on finding them a home since I'm relocating to Austin Tx in a couple of months I'm looking for a home for them in the Asheville NC area

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We have a NC member here. I will direct her towards this thread. But I'm thinking in Tx you would be able to plunk that thing in the ground if you can both travel with it and end up with a bit of ground there.


~Tina
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Drama Free Zone.
What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)

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