Always wear thick safety gloves when pruning because you will be working with sharp shears. If the plant isn’t growing well throughout the year, prune at least half of the stems to the ground to allow the plant to grow healthy. Bird of paradise can be cleaned up and trimmed at any point, but serious pruning should wait until early spring. Sign up for our newsletter. Excess plant food deposits salts in the soil and these salts cause leaf tip burn. Bird of paradise pruning is a more serious affair. The goals of bird of paradise pruning are to remove old plant matter, thin the leaves, and take out damaged stems. Q. Bird-of-Paradise Houseplant - My bird-of-paradise is 4 years old and has never bloomed. You can prune your Bird of Paradise easily when they’ve finished blooming! What Are The Different Types Of Bird Of Paradise Plants, Feeding Bird Of Paradise Plants – How To Fertilize Bird Of Paradise Plants, What Are Loppers Used For: Tips On Using Garden Loppers For Pruning, Garden Inside During Winter: How To Plant An Indoor Winter Garden, Growing Food For Christmas: How To Grow Christmas Dinner, Boxwood Wreath Ideas: Tips For Making Boxwood Wreaths, Black Walnut Tree Compatible Plants: Plants That Grow Under Black Walnut Trees, Growing And Planting Smoke Trees In The Landscape, Information On How To Prune Roots On Houseplants, Fresh-Cut Pine Tree Smell: Perfect Christmas Tree Memories, Norfolk Island Pine - The Perfect Christmas Tree, Winter Survival Guide: Creative Ways To Garden In Winter, Evergreen Favorite: Container Grown Olive Trees. You might need a friend or neighbor to hold it steady while you’re trimming to avoid getting hurt with the shears. Home / Gardening / How to Prune a Bird of Paradise : Great Gardening How to Prune a Bird of Paradise : Great Gardening Posted by: admin in Gardening January 29, 2014 0 208 Views Removing Sago Palm Pups - I have read articles describing the removal of the pups from sago palms. A Bird of Paradise that is trimmed in this way will normally grow back within 1-2 blooming seasons if treated with water and fertilizer. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Do not use hedge trimmers on your Bird of Paradise because this can cause irreversible damage to the plant. Lauren has worked for Aurora, Colorado managing the Water-Wise Garden at Aurora Municipal Center for the Water Conservation Department. The best food for the white bird of paradise is balanced plant nourishment during spring and summer until mid-autumn using controlled-release fertilizer. You may wish to reduce the size of an older plant or remove leaves and stems that bar a pathway or window. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Dubbed the queen of houseplants, the bird of paradise is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the world of indoor plants. While most people know how to grow a bird of paradise, how to trim a bird of paradise plant is another thing.Since these plants are vigorous growers, in the right conditions, pruning birds of paradise is oftentimes necessary. However, they grow best in organically-rich, loamy soil that drains well with a pH of 5.5-7.5. It is a crucial part of rejuvenating a neglected plant. Gardening on the Web since 1997 Lauren has worked for Aurora, Colorado managing the Water-Wise Garden at Aurora Municipal Center for the Water Conservation Department. A Bird of Paradise plant needs less water in the fall and winter. Larger species like S. nicolai or S. alba grow up to 30 feet tall, which makes them difficult to grow in your home unless you live in a mansion with an enormous, well-lit foyer.. Any time you cut into a plant you should have sharp implements, safety garb, and sanitized equipment to prevent introducing and spreading disease. You may trim it here and there if it gets too crowded. Bird of paradise, or strelitzia reginae, produces thick, leathery leaves and colorful flowers that resemble the shape of a bird's head. If your plant is in a pot, bring it indoors during very cold temperatures to prevent freezing of the leaves and flowers. She earned a BA in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from Western Michigan University in 2014. The distinctive bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae or Strelizia nicolai) is one of the best known of all the tropical flowers and is a cousin to the banana.Surprisingly, the bird of paradise is easier to grow than many tropical plants and makes for a vigorous, rapidly growing indoor plant. This involves harder pruning and should be attacked in early spring. There are five species of bird of paradise, in Strelizia genus, and not all of them are suitable for growing indoors.. Feeling lonely and sad? Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. There’s something tropical and exotic about the upright stalks, the banana-shaped leaves, and the unique flowers that look like a crane. The Garden Helper is a free gardening encyclopedia and guides to growing and caring for gardens, plants and flowers. Begin pruning Yellow and Mexican varieties in late winter and early spring. After cold winter weather ends, you can start assessing your Yellow and Mexican Bird of Paradise flowers to prune them. Remove root suckers or sprouts that grow at the base of the plant in order to control the growth. An expert weighs in on how to feel better. 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