The
bird-of-paradise
A
solution to a designer's creativity block
May 13, 2004
In the design world, there is an old saying that by staring at a picture of
a bird-of-paradise, new ideas come to a designer with a creativity block.
Looking at this exotic tropical in a garden setting not only inspires
imagination for creative landscape design, but draws attention to its unique
characteristics.
For those of you who visited the gardens on the Annual Garden Tour the first
weekend of this month, you may have noticed the bird-of-paradise growing in the
Goris gardens.
Home to numerous tropicals, the landscaped
backyard was full of design technique with a variety of color, shape, height
and texture.
The bird-of-paradise towered over the colorful patchwork flowerbed and
provided a distinctive contrasting design element to the garden setting of
shorter blooming perennials.
Named for its unique flower, the bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia
reginae) resembles the head of a brightly-colored
tropical bird. This variety is called the crane flower.
It is a slow-growing, evergreen perennial native to southern
This variety develops slowly by division of its underground stem with a trunkless, clump-forming growth pattern.
The mature clump stands 4 to 5 feet high and spans 3 to 5 feet in width.
Leaves are about 6 inches wide and 18 inches long, rising from the clump in a
fan-like pattern.
The flower, with its pointed "beak," blooms with an orange, purple
and blue crown on the head of the bird.
A stalk holds one to three flowers, each with three orange sepals and three
blue petals enclosing the stamen and style.
Winter pruning should be avoided as old leaves help protect it against the
cold; it can be damaged at 28 degrees F.
Another variety is Strelitzia nicolai, known as the giant bird-of-paradise,
resembling the traveler's palm, but is smaller in size and span.
It can reach a height of 15 feet or more and has flowers in white with blue
tongues.
More flowers are produced when the plant grows in full sun; however, the
leaves are darker green when it is grown in light shade.
It thrives in most any rich soil with good drainage and is salt tolerant.
The
In cooler climates, the bird-of-paradise can be grown inside. My experience
with these is outside plants growing in pots.
With a monthly acidic fertilizer of 30-10-10, up to 15 blooms per season are
produced.
Cut flowers can last up to two weeks by changing the water every two days
and cutting an inch off the bottom of the stem each water change.
As the flower fades, slitting under the pointed beak exposes a second
flower.
The bird-of-paradise is one of the more dramatic varieties used in floral
design and can stand on its own or be used with other types of flowers and
foliage. It is particularly stunning with ginger and other tropical cuttings.
Propagation is either by seed or division; and seedlings take three to five
years to produce flowers.
Division of the plant can produce flowers in one to two years.
Hand-pollinated flowers produce seedpods containing 60 to 80 seeds per pod; the
seeds are black with orange tufts.
Sow the seeds before they become dry, but if they do, soaking them in
concentrated sulfuric acid for five minutes and then rinsing them in fresh
water will scarify them - hastening germination.
If the seeds are kept moist, germination can take two to three months. When
planting, it does not matter which side of the seed is up.
Separating the clumps or removing young offshoots can easily accomplish
propagation by division.
Three months is usual time for divisions to generate new roots and is done
by cutting between two sections with a clean, sharp knife and using a rooting
hormone before planting in good commercial potting soil.
The bird-of-paradise is generally pest free. Diseases might include
bacterial wilt and root rot.
Root rot is a seed-borne fungus and can be controlled by soaking the seeds
in room temperature water for one day and then in a 30-minute dip in 135-degree
water. Once allowed to dry, they are ready for planting.
The bird-of-paradise is truly a magnificent garden specimen that not only
lures attention to its design characteristics, but also provides a dramatic
look and feel to any setting.
No wonder designers can be inspired by just looking at it!
I continue to be intrigued with those growing in pots in my own garden yard setting.