The bird of paradise is a plant with a marvelous combination of distinctive shapes and brilliant colours. The Bird Of Paradise is native to South Africa. It is a tropical herb that is a member of Musaceae or the Banana family.

The scientific name is Strelitzia reginae. Its name comes from the

spectacular flower shape it resembles a birds beak and head plumage.

The bird of paradise is a spectacular blossom. Long stemmed flowers emerge from green boat shaped

bracts which are bordered in red or purple. The numerous pointed petals

of brilliant orange are contrasted with an arrow-shaped tongue of vivid blue. Some species are white and blue. The plant can itself reach up to five feet

in height.

The Bird of paradise requires a good amount of sunlight. The plant is trunkles, compact and clustering

but slow growing with fleshy roots. It has a banana shaped stiff-

leathery, concave, bluish gray leaves with a pale red midrib. The leaves are attached to a long stalk

that sometimes reaches up to 2 feet in length.

The plant should be fertilized according to the growing conditions. Most Bird of

Paradise flowers is underfertilized. Overwatering

especially in winter will lead to root rot which will spread just

above the surface.

This type of flower is relatively pest free. For practical purposes they have no problems, but occasionally some pest problems may occur. Scale insects can be treated with insecticidal soap or removed with a sponge or soapy water. It is recommended that you take a damp sponge and clean the leave once a month. Nematodes cause problems for the roots of Strelitzia. You may use a clean potting mix or soil when repotting. Keep pots off the ground to prevent nematodes from infecting the potting media from you native soil.

The Bird of Paradise can be propagated by either seeds or division of the crowns. Seeds

take considerably longer than division to grow into a blooming plant. The Bird of Paradise seeds have a very hard seed coat. Before planting them you must scarify (break the

seed coat). Take a file and scrape the outside of the seeds just enough to break the seed

coat. Sow seeds in a propagating mix or make your own mix by using equal parts of sand

and potting soil.

WOW! This flower is so awesome. This stunning bloom is even

reported to taste very nice. It fails its adoring fans by lacking any

marked scent, only making up for this deficiency by being very

possibly the most spectacular cut flower to be found at the florist,

and it lasts for weeks in the vase.