White Bird of Paradise Questions

[PalmTreeDude]

I just bought a White Bird of Paradise today and have a few questions about it. Could I separate these three plants and pot them up individually without them dying? Also, if I were to plant them into the ground in the spring, could I dig them back up in the fall and pot them up for the winter? 

Edited December 30, 2019 by PalmTreeDude

[NOT A TA]

Yes, and yes. I do it all the time. Although I don't do it for winter. Just to move and replant later or make new plants.

[dalmatiansoap]

Agree

[RaleighNC]

Yes they are very tough. And if you grow tired of digging them up in the fall, you could try overwintering one outside.  Just plant it a little deeper than you normally might. I have been growing one in 7b as a dieback perennial for several years. I throw a pile of mulch around the base. It has come back after at least 3 winters, including the killer winter of 2018 when it got down to 5F on two nights.  It is a little slow to resprout in the spring, and doesn't get nearly as big as it does indoors, so it would never be a substitute for a cold-hardy banana. 

[PalmTreeDude]

Thanks for the replies, I had no clue they were this tough since this is the first time I owned one. I might try planting and then digging them up one winter and if I don't like that I'll either try to over winter them or keep them potted. I might even put one into a pot and the other two in the ground or something. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by PalmTreeDude

[Merlyn]

Yep, I've separated out pots like that before, no problem.  Just peel them apart and try not to cut into the culm/bulb.  They'll grow new roots fast if given fairly rich palm-ish soil.

They take blowtorch damage at around 25F, but they do grow back fairly quick in the spring.  Orange birds are a bit more cold tolerant, and also will generally grow back after being defoliated in a cold front.  I'm not sure about their bottom end, since it doesn't get cold enough to damage them here in Orlando.

I have a row of white birds in the backyard, and last winter a bear used one as a chewtoy.  The others are 6-8' tall now, and the utterly demolished one is now 5' tall...so they grow back fast!

[RedRabbit]

Do these grow in clusters or are they always just grouped together like this? I’ve only seen a few single stem white birds and they look much better imo.

[NOT A TA]

They typically clump. The ones in the pot in above pics were three separate ones planted in a pot by the looks.

[RedRabbit]

23 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

They typically clump. The ones in the pot in above pics were three separate ones planted in a pot by the looks.

Thanks. I guess the single stem ones I’ve seen have been the product of a lot of maintenance. 

[Merlyn]

They don't clump super-fast, so if you prefer the single stem look it's not too difficult.  I'd guess you could keep them solo with one (maybe two) prunings per year.

[NOT A TA]

Here I have to cut them back 3-4 times a year and it's hard to stop new ones from sprouting from the base. I let 3 "trunks" at a time grow till they're about 8 feet high then cut them off low and let 3 new ones take over. They'll grow taller here but I haven't let any grow more than about 10', they're heavy to move when they get big.

This thread reminded me earlier that I needed to trim one of mine near the driveway. If I let the smaller ones get to big and bushy I can't see traffic backing out of the driveway. So I took a few pics, one before pruning and a couple afterward. I have a big pickup truck so no need to trim low. Pruning allows the flowers to be more noticeable.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Looks way better trimmed =) 

[NOT A TA]

1 minute ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Looks way better trimmed =) 

Ya, that one isn't really in an ideal place. Too much sun & wind out there in the open. They look better here in partial shade in a sheltered area. I have others in the back yard that are nicer looking specimens. Started them all from a cutting I got from a neighbor when I bought my house about 15 years ago. The one in pics above was where I planted the cutting and I think I've cut the tall ones out about 5 times so far and hacked (dug with shovel) the pups around the base about 3-4 times to keep it from getting too wide, time to do that again in spring.

[Estlander]

Here’s one of mine that’s one the west side of the house. They grow pretty fast. Planted them back in May 2018. They’ve started seriously suckering now and one is over the roof line already. 

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Estlander

[NOT A TA]

49 minutes ago, Estlander said:

Here’s one of mine that’s one the west side of the house.

That one looks like it's doing great! Didn't think you could grow them up there outside.

[Estlander]

1 hour ago, NOT A TA said:

That one looks like it's doing great! Didn't think you could grow them up there outside.

They're actually quite common in Destin. We also have specimens here with quite a bit of woody trunk on them.

Even if they should get cut back to the ground here in a bad freeze, they quickly come back. Doesn't ever get cold enough here to completely kill them.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Estlander

[Estlander]

Here it is in daylight today. 
Is that horizontal growth a flower getting ready to come out circled in red? 

[Merlyn]

Yep, it sure looks like a bloom starting!  Mine bloom in the spring,  maybe the recent heatwave has it confused?

[NOT A TA]

They bloom year round here.

[Merlyn]

Here's my row of white birds in the backyard, planted in February 2018 from about 10 pots of big box store doubles.  Near the Sylvester you can see a leaf going sideways near the ground...a bear went romping through there a few weeks ago and knocked one over.  I haven't dug it to stand it back up yet, I'm kind of curious whether it'll grow back up straight later.