A failure or lack of bloom after a few years of growth cycle could be a result of various glitches. The growing conditions, planting zones and care provided for your bird of paradise will go down to determine the likelihood of blooms.
Birds of paradise bear magnificent blooms. Section of its blooms closely resembles the heads of tropical birds in flight. Like many flowering plants, strelitzia species will bear flowers once they have reached maturity. Surprisingly, your plant could appear healthy and going but fail to flower. Don’t panic or get discouraged. Sometimes growing conditions have not been perfected yet for these plants to start blooming.
Orange and White BoP Blooms (Pictures)
To see them with their bloom, be patient with your plants. Many of these orange and white birds of paradise take very few years before you can see the flowers.
When will my bird of paradise start to bloom? In a few years, a young plant purchased in the spring will form flower buds by October (latest). The first bloom will appear 2 months later. Your houseplant will bloom in just about 3 to four years. Outdoors, birds of paradise can achieve blooms in 3 – 6 years.
Whether indoors or outdoors, these plants need consistent checks and super-growing conditions. Blooming will occur from the spring to summer after a dormancy winter period.
Why Your Bird of Paradise Can’t Bloom
At the point of ordering or purchasing the plant, knowing its age is as good as anticipating its blooms. Your houseplant won’t start showing signs of blooming after the 1st or 2nd year.
If you already have several various houseplants, know exactly when you added this one. Use these points to tell how old your bird of paradise is.
- Purchase date, month and year
- When you sow the seeds
- Ask your desk help assistants for more accurate information
Poorly-lit Rooms or Dark Outdoor Conditions
Lack of quality hourly sunlight is behind your birds of paradise failing to flower. If you cannot comfortably read a book in your room during the daytime, you can’t grow these plants indoors with ease either. Your home is poorly lit or is dull. Think of grow lights if you’re on a budget.
Remember that if you let your plants get scorched or burnt they will not bloom. While indoors, situate them in the South-facing windows. These spots will allow the plant to get the most of light. And if you have some outdoors, move them to a sunnier location.
Water Stresses (Dehydration & Saturation)
Water stress in plants can either manifest in irregular or watering very often. This can easily lead to plants being underwatered or flooded.
One can fall into irregular watering traps if you can’t wait for the top half of the pot to be dry between water sessions. Water stress due to under-watering is common during the growing season. Identifying this problem is easy. The leaves start to wilt and then turn yellow.
Flooding or overwatering your bird of paradise plants will prevent them from flowering. Instead, they will end up developing root rot. This means you will only wait for their blooms in vain as they will eventually die.
Very Cold or Warm Conditions
These plants will take longer to achieve their blooms in extreme temperature conditions. These variations will be reflected in growth. Noticeably, the growth curves for BOP houseplants and those grown in-ground soil (outdoors) are a bit different. On one hand, the houseplant will refuse to grow if the temperature is often below 50 °F.
It is safe to conclude that BOPs won’t achieve blooms in the hardiness zone in which temperature regularly drops below 50 °F. Both the white and orange strelitzia ssp have excellent abilities to endure short periods of cold. However, prolonged exposure will kill any flower buds.
In zones whose temperature average is between 50 °F and 55 °F, you can grow these plants outside.
Poorly Aerated and Drained Soil
The root growth of these plants is shaped by the quality of the soil. As such, soil or potting mix with poorly aerated and draining qualities will go along to determine when it could mature. In the long run, doing so would discourage the formation of flower buds.
After having prepared a repotting mix, planting BoP deeper will only result in growing consequences. Avoid burring the roots deeper such that the rhizomes touch the lower half part of the new container. Ensure the root bases are just below the soil surface. Leave the roots just below the soil level to help the flowers bloom better.
Your Plant has Pests or Diseases
Bird of Paradise plants infested with pests will have growth problems. They either will take longer or won’t bloom. Those growing outdoors are likely to be attacked much more easily. Nevertheless, pests will still reach them whether they’re outdoors or in containers.
Mealybugs, spider mites, scales, vine weevils, and thrips are among the pests that pose an invasion danger. Mealybugs and spider mites tend to be the usual culprits.
After these pests have caused all sorts of damage, their nutrition is poor. They render your houseplant nearly helpless and lonely. Leaves get twisted and may turn yellow or start to turn brown. The case of diseases may not be much different from pest damage. However, a combination of these pests and diseases can not only cause failure in blooms. Your houseplant can’t cope with both.
While root rot is a common condition, fungal infections (powdery mildew, botrytis) and leaf spots can be challenging.
Your BoP Leaves are Clogged Up
Accumulation of dust particles can easily clog the leaf pores. Your plant may look as healthy as ever. Yes. But this will negatively impact light absorption.
Besides them struggling to capture light, they will take longer to produce new leaves and growths. So will the buds or flowers. Up your gardening game to improve the growing conditions.
If your birds of paradise are growing in your indoor garden, clean and dust it up. Clean up your plant too. Water-spray or mist them often to remove excess dust. Then remember to gently wipe the leaves twice every month.
How to Achieve Bird of Paradise Blooms
Good care and super-growing conditions are key to successful blooming. Here are additional tips I followed to make my BOP plants bloom in time.
1. Feed and Nourish Your BoPs
Feeding needs may vary depending on the size of your plant, growing season and dormancy period.
Throughout the growing season, feed your BoP plant on water-soluble fertilizers. Half the indicated fertilizer strength. Then apply fortnightly (every 2 weeks) during spring and summer. Alternatively, feed your houseplant after every 4 drinks of water in spring and summer.
Reduce this feeding to every 6 drinks of water as autumn arrives. Stop feeding your plants in the winter through the dormancy stage. In the third growth cycle, switch to a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus content. Phosphorus encourages flower growth in plants.
NB: Check and follow fertilizer application guidelines that came with its package.
2. Repot your BOP Plant Annually
Normally, birds of paradise roots set in every half to three-quarters year of active growth. The tuberous roots of the plant will likely take ground and overwhelm its pot size. Other tips to help a successful repotting include:
- The bird of paradise plant getting too large for its current pot size
- Replant it in a new container with drainage holes
- Use an organic soil mixture to replant when you want to grow in the ground soil
- Adhere to specific fertilizer and feeding products
I normally use a potting mix labeled as cactus or succulent. Always check the health status of the roots. If the roots came into direct contact with the pot edges, you can see the darker curved marks. Remove those with pot marks as well as those with signs of fungal disease.
Both S. reginae and S. juncea need to be repotted after a year. If your plant width has gone beyond the pots, divide it up first. Ensure you minimally disturb the root zone. Then repot early in the spring. Select a container that is only a bit larger but not too large.
3. Bring your Houseplant Outdoors
Luckily, you can encourage birds of paradise to bloom if you live within the hardiness zones 10 and 11. That in itself isn’t enough. Alternatively, just bring your plants outdoors from late spring to summer end.
Two, check the temperature variation during the day and night. During the day, bring your houseplants indoors if the temperature outside is above 75 °F. Find a brightly lit room and regulate its warmth to around (59 °F – °F). Unless they will be scorched by heat.
Prolonged night and temperature variations will not have any effects. Don’t worry about them. It is very unlikely temperature will drop below 50 °F.
4. Keep an Eye-on Regularly
Supervise and keep an eye on each of the plants’ progress. One of the supervision tasks is to keep insects and pests at bay. Let them have an hour of (midmorning) direct sunlight. Then move your plants to a shady location.
5. Other Flowering Tips
In addition to feeding and repotting, here are additional care tips to help the BoP plant to achieve blooms.
- Plant your BoP in a container to encourage a cluster form of root growth
- After the dormancy period feed on potassium-based food; for 2 weeks until the pre-flowering period
- After dormancy use nitrogen, water-soluble fertilizer; monthly to promote healthy growths
- Avoid any kind of bloom booster fertilizers when the plant is in the pre-flower form
- Don’t apply a phosphorus fertilizer to the whole of the garden soil