Food Requirements for Birds of Paradise

Without the proper food, a bird of paradise won't bloom.

Without the proper food, a bird of paradise won't bloom.

Creating an exotic, tropical look in your home or your garden can be as simple as planting birds of paradise (Strelitzia reginae). Their spiky blooms look almost like colorful birds in flight, topping long, firm, bananalike leaves. They can survive outside in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 to 11, or you can grow them in sunny indoor areas.

Organic Fertilizers

In their native tropical habitat, birds of paradise receive plenty of organic fertilizer as the fallen leaves, blooms and branches of other plants cover the ground and decompose. Add 3 to 4 inches of compost around your bird of paradise whether indoors or outdoors, making sure to keep it about 2 inches from the stalk and leaves to prevent burning. Other organic fertilizers that birds of paradise respond well to include blood meal and composted manure. Outdoors, apply about 3 pounds per 100 square feet.

Chemical Fertilizers

Birds of paradise need a light, balanced fertilizer, such as a 1-1-1. They have a relatively long growing season -- from the beginning of spring to the end of fall -- and are slow to mature, often taking four to five years to bloom initially. This means they do best with a slow-release fertilizer that can continue adding nutrients to the soil as the plant needs them. Outdoors, apply 2 pounds per 100 square feet. Indoors, dilute a water-soluble fertilizer and add about 2 cups during each application.

How Often

Indoors, birds of paradise often need to be fertilized every two weeks during the growing season and once a month in the winter. This is more often than most plants, but producing the distinctive, spiky flowers takes a well-fed plant. When planted outdoors, they receive additional nutrients from decaying plant matter in the soil, so they need fertilizing every three months; time the first one at the beginning of the growing season.


When you add fertilizers to the soil, the salt in the fertilizer tends to stay in the soil longer than other components. This is particularly true of houseplants, as there are no organisms in the soil to move nutrients around and because indoor birds of paradise need so much fertilizer. Leach your birds of paradise about twice a year, or when you notice some white, salty residue on top of the soil. Place the plant outside or in the bathtub, then pour twice as much water into the pot as there is soil. For example, if there are about 10 cups of soil in a 6-inch pot, use 20 cups of water. Do this in stages by watering as much as the pot can hold, then wait 30 minutes before watering again. Let all the water drain, then add more soil as necessary to refill the pot; some is likely to drain with the water.

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