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Janetlilly
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- Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:02 am
- Location: Texas
Container planting a bird of paradise...Help!
I just recently separated a baby sucker bird of paradise from the main plant in my yard. It is quite tall about 4 ft tall with 5 fronds. I planted in a container with some miracle grow potting mix and want it for my patio. Because it is top heavy what should I use to keep it staked up until it starts to take root?? Thanks for any advice!
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prettygurl
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applestar
- Mod
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Don't know much about BoP but with their broad leaves and size like that, if it doesn't have much roots of its own, I wonder if the roots can support the amout of moisture loss through the leaves?
It seems to me you would need to keep it in high humidity condition (like a humidity tent when dealing with smaller plants) or trim the leaves off? -- I guess it depends on just how much root system it has vs. the size/number of leaves.
At the very least, I think it would be best to keep the container in a sheltered location like under trees or shrubbery with indirect/filtered sun.
Anyway, to support the plant, I think easiest would be to gather and bundle the leaves together, then cross tie (three-way or four-way) to stakes pushed into the container along the inner rim or into the ground surrounding the container.
If the leaf growth is wide-spread and not easily gathered, anther option would be to either make giant U-pins out of stiff wire to hold down the crown or to snake support strings through the center of the leaf stems.
It seems to me you would need to keep it in high humidity condition (like a humidity tent when dealing with smaller plants) or trim the leaves off? -- I guess it depends on just how much root system it has vs. the size/number of leaves.
At the very least, I think it would be best to keep the container in a sheltered location like under trees or shrubbery with indirect/filtered sun.
Anyway, to support the plant, I think easiest would be to gather and bundle the leaves together, then cross tie (three-way or four-way) to stakes pushed into the container along the inner rim or into the ground surrounding the container.
If the leaf growth is wide-spread and not easily gathered, anther option would be to either make giant U-pins out of stiff wire to hold down the crown or to snake support strings through the center of the leaf stems.