Paradise bird plant dying? Looking for advice

10 years ago

Hi,

I have the paradise bird plant. Before the leaves would stand straighter upwards, but now the plant leaves look sad and droopy.

I kill almost every plant I touch and inherited this when I bought the house. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to care for this plant? I don't know if I'm supposed to water every day and whether it makes more sense to let the hose slow drip for a while near the root of the plant (the plant's base covers a pretty wide surface area and if I leave the hose in one place I'm concerned it won't get to the rest of the roots), or if it makes more sense to attach the spray to hose and just spray everywhere (not sure how often I should be watering).

Any tips would be hugely appreciated - thank you!

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

10 years ago

" but since we are in a drought here, we only water for 2 or 3 minutes every few days."

This type of watering routine will keep barely anything other than the most drought tolerant species alive! With an automatic sprinkler system, you are losing a good portion of the water emitted to evaporation, as much as 50%......and it really doesn't matter what time of day the system turns on. And with a big, leafy plant like the Strelitzia, you can bet 90% of the of water NOT lost to evaporation is not hitting the root system - water just on the leaves is not a viable substitute for that. In short, your watering routine is likely not delivering anything of value to the plant in terms of needed moisture.

Reprogram your sprinkler system so that the water comes on less frequently but for a longer duration. Can't tell you exactly how long - you will have to do some testing to determine a correct interval, but you want any irrigation water to penetrate as deeply into the soil profile as possible, at least 6-8", more if possible. Or use the hose on a slow trickle left in place at the base of the plant. Again, the length of time will be determined by how well and how fast the water percolates through the soil. And once a week should be more than adequate for any plant well established in the landscape, perhaps less often for very drought tolerant species..

For a state that is suffering from an extended drought situation, I am amazed at how inefficient and wasteful most CA watering practices are! I am not an irrigation contractor but I am a landscape designer and certified horticulturist and DO know how plants should be watered and I could make a fortune redesigning CA irrigation systems to deliver water more efficiently and with less waste. Pop-up sprinkler systems are fine for lawns (provided they are programmed correctly.......and few are) but they are a waste of time, money and a valuable and precious natural resource when used for regular landscape plantings. Investigate converting your system to a drip or low emission system for all the landscape plantings. And remember that low and slow or less frequent but longer watering periods will provide much better results.

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
where are you ...

what has the weather been this year ... any late out of the ordinary cold snap .. which i doubt ....

why do you think it needs so much water ...

its an extremely old..well established plant .. i am thinking you might be trying to love it to death .. who told you to water so much????

for gal ... its not a deciduous tree... and it may or may not be fall.. but since the OP doesnt tell us.. who knows ....

ken
jean001a
10 years ago
It's a drought-tolerant, tough-as-nails plant which gets by with very little water.

See this -- How to grow bird of paradise:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/bop/bird-of-paradise-an-exotic-flower-like-none-other.htm
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gado15 mado
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi guys - I'm in San Francisco area. The weather has been pretty stable - around 85 degrees for the most part during the day. There has been almost no rain this year. The reason I thought I would need help is the leaves all started flattening out (they weren't vibrant and pointing vertical - they are all kind of slumped over - not much yellowing though so that's a good sign).

My Mom took a look at it and suggested I give it more water.

Thank for the tips - I read the article it looks like I don't need to water it much. We have an automatic sprinkler next to it, but since we are in a drought here, we only water for 2 or 3 minutes every few days. Also when the sprinkler waters it, it seems like it gets over the leaves, but I am concerned not enough of the water makes it down to the root.

I was thinking I should go outside and use the spray hose head and just spray the bottom of the plant area. Wait till the soil completely dries out and then do it again. If you guys think this is a bad idea and have another suggestion definitely am open to suggestions.

Also the fact that the plant is flat, is that a bad sign or is that what this plant usually does during the winter time?

Thanks!
gado15 mado
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks a ton.

Last week I took off the hose spray head and just put the hose head at the base of the plant and let it slow trickle - extremely slow trickle actually. Left it there for almost 30 minutes.

My concern with this approach is the base of the plant takes a very wide surface area. When I slow trickle, my hose only hits one small side of the root system. I am concerned that most of the root system would still not get any water with this method. Do you have any suggestions for this?

I was thinking maybe over the course of an hour, I would need to go outside four times at 15 minute intervals and move the hose to a different base area of the plant. But by doing this I still am not assured I can get the entire plant root system.

My only other thought was to just put the spray head on the hose and just give it a good spray aiming at the root area all around. I think this would be the best way to do it to give a more even spray across the entire root system, but goes against the "low and slow" method both you and another friend of mine recommended.

Not sure how to reconcile this? Thanks
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
I'd favor the hose at a slow trickle, moving as necessary, over the spray method. Water in the soil will move laterally as well as straight down and you are reasonably assured the entire root system is getting moisture this way. Even if not an entirely uniform application, it is far better than using the sprinkler and likely quite adequate for the plant
jean001a
10 years ago
Contact the folks at your county's Extension Service office. The Master Gardeners there are familiar w/ SF's weather/climate and can supply you with accurate info.

Go to http://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.org/
gado15 mado
Original Author
10 years ago
Wow I didn't know this Master Gardeners existed - thank you!

Thank you as well gardengal for all your suggestions!