Bird of Paradise Plant

[Palm crazy]

What is the hardiness BOP?

Nursery seller told me once that the solid Orange flowering BOP is hardy to 8b, any thoughts on this?

[Benjamin D.]

If you are talking about Strelitzia reginae, I think it's risky at best. Maybe against a south wall. And they are small enough that maybe you could protect them when it's below freezing. The "coldest" place I definitely remember seeing them was 9b on the Texas coast. (Mustang Island)

Caesalpinias are also called bird of paradise sometimes. Some of those are good choices for 8b.

Strelitzias have paddle-shaped leaves and Caesalpinias are leguminous trees/shrubs. Hope this helps.

[Benjamin D.]

Strelitzias are so pretty that it would be worth just keeping one in a pot! That's what I did, but it got fried a couple summers ago.

[mnorell]

Strelitzia reginae can take light to moderate freezes under canopy, to about 26-27F if not too long in duration, but dislikes frost (i.e., in open exposures in freezing locations). It will return from quite cold temps, in the teens, yes, but is extremely slow to return and you will not likely see flowers if damage occurs on a yearly basis. Treat it as you would Alpinia zerumbet. Best in warmer 9b areas under canopy and in the open in zone 10. The leafless variety, v. Juncea, might be a little hardier, though this is a guess on my part.

[Xerarch]

If you're specifically talking about and orange flowered bird of paradise that might be hardy to 8b, I have to believe that you would be referring to caesalpinia pulcherrima. It looks nothing like strelitzia at all but is nevertheless a very beautiful flowering shrub. In an 8b climate it would certainly be killed the ground every winter but comes back well from the roots. Even in climates where it doesn't die back, it is a good practice to cut it way back in the spring anyway to keep a nice size to it and encourage blooms.

Caesalpinia pulcherrima might do ok in 8b but Caesalpinia gillesii is more hardy and is also beautiful (but probably less striking than pulcherrima), it has yellow flowers with long red stamens.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Xerarch

[Jeff Searle]

Were talking Bird of Paradise.No mention of anything else in the initial topic.

[Xerarch]

There are multiple plants that are called bird of paradise, especially those in the Strelitzia or Caesalpinia genus, since we don't know which one was being referred to in the initial post, we'll talk about both and hope that we hit the mark somewhere.

[Palm crazy]

"Well Shut My Mouth".... Sorry I was talking about Strelitzia reginae "Orange Bird-of-Paradise". Forgot there are more than one Bird-of-Paradise, LOL!

I think its only hardy to 24-25F @ short duration. They call it a tender perennial in 8/9 zones, very miss leading for my little Pea brain.

http://www.storesonlinepro.com/store/2418111/product/Strelitzia%20reginae%20Orange%20Bird-of-Paradise_Strelitzia-reginae-“Orange-Bird-of-Paradise”

I see Strelitzia at the box stores here every spring but they come from Cali and are always done blooming by the time they make it up here. But this year I'm going to get one either way since the flowers are so beautiful and last for ever. Container plant it will be....

Thanks everyone!

Roger

Edited February 23, 2013 by Palm crazy

[WestCoastGal]

Based on your initial post I'd have to say "solid orange" probably refers to the Caesalpinia pulcherrima, or Red Bird of Paradise--although it has always looked orange to me in photos.

We're considering adding some Strelitzia reginea to our yard, and will be trying them mostly along a south facing house wall with a small overhang and hoping they do well enough in our Sunset zone. I don't think I've read anything that listed these for a Zone 8 though. Even Mandela's Gold variety would be rated for a higher zone than 8. For areas along our outer fence we are BTW considering the red birds, which still have a nice fern like tropical look. The orange color is tropical as well.

[Palm crazy]

Yeah I like Caesalpinia pulcherrima also but haven't seen one for sale around my area for a long time. I think they all died out and now all you see for sale are the yellow ones.

WCG, I think Strelitzia reginea would do great in your garden. Up here one flowers stays in bloom for several months.

[gyuseppe]

bird of paradise - Strelitzia Reginae ,resist to -6 / -7 degrees celsius

bird of paradise giant-Strelitzia alba or nicolai, resist to -5/ -6 degrees celsius,but the leaves burn to -3 celsius,I have 3 of these

[gyuseppe]

[Geoff]

Strelitzia reginae is far more cold tolerant in southern California than is S nicolai, which routinely get cut down by the frosts every 2-5 years here (only defoliated or partially so- never seen one killed outright), while I have yet to see any damage to a single S reginae in this climate, even when temps got down to 24F... though I suspect zone 8b would be a true test for them... likely the root systems would survive, but the foliage might have severe damage on the colder years.

[Austinpalm]

I have had Strelitzia reginae planted in my yard for at least 5 years now. Prior to 2011 it would flower nicely. A low of 15F with 48hrs below 32F knocked it back to the roots. It has regrown several new stems and I hope it will finally flower again later this year.

[WestCoastGal]

Giuseppe, those birds look great. Nicolai or alba?