How to Grow Bird-of-Paradise (Strelitzia Reginae)

Views: 24031 | Last Update: 2009-04-30
Growing bird-of-paradise plants, or streltzia reginae, requires very warm climates, as the plant can freeze very easily. Get a bird-of-paradise plant to bloom in colder climates by keeping them as houseplants using instructions from a sustainable... View Video Transcript

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Yolanda Vanveen

Video Transcript

Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen and in this segment we're going to learn all about, "How to grow the Bird of Paradise plant or Strelitzia". It's a beautiful plant from South Africa, one of my favorites. So Strelitzia is native to South Africa and they're found all over the world and many tropical regions now. But when I was down in South Africa at Christian Bausch Botanical Garden, they were blooming everywhere and they were gorgeous. They are called Mandalas Gold, it's the yellow and purple variety and they're just exquisite. They look like birds everywhere. So each Strelitzia bloom consists of several spiky flowers arising from a boat like bract. Now the leaves are large and dramatic and they form large clumps of evergreen banana like foliage. And they occur naturally in South Africa but are grown in warm climates around the world. And in cool areas they are enjoyed as green house plants. So really Strelitzia cant' go below zone nine. They freeze very easily. So even at a little bit of frost, it'll do a lot of damage. But you can always put them outside and enjoy them all summer long and then throw them inside as a house plant for the winter too and they make great house plants. It's very difficult to get them to bloom if you live in a colder climate; so you can always do what we've done in our climate in the Pacific Northwest because over the years I know a few people that have gotten blooms on them, but very few. So what we do is at the garden shows we just buy some silk flowers and put them in with them and they look gorgeous. In that way, you can enjoy your Strelitzia even if you live in a cold climate.