YAPlantT: My "Bird of Paradise" is dying.

[polm]

I have had these 2 "Birds of Paradise" for about 6 months. They started off in the pot that you see in the pics.

They seemed to be doing well for the first few months. I was watering pretty heavily and some of the lower leaves started to wilt. I cut them off.

As the fall season approaches, I began watering a little less, as per instructions from the local gardener who sold me the plants.

The plants get 6+ hours of Artificial light a day.

I water them with about 1-2 cups of water a day.

I spray mist on them a couple times a day.

I feed them MiracleGro every couple weeks.

They are looking really bad, as the pics indicate. Even the new leaf is already brown and wilted.

Any suggestions

 

[Gurck]

Most artificial light doesn't even come close to natural light, only expensive wattage-hogs made for this specific purpose offer even a vague facsimile, and at that only when placed within a few feet of plants.

 

[Bryophyte]

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/birdofparadise.htm
"The Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) do best with at least four hours of direct sunlight a day, but should have bright light all day, with day temperatures of 68-72° and night temperatures of 50° to 55°. Generally they are hardy to about 20°. They flower more readily when they are somewhat rootbound, which is why they are more often grown in large pots or tubs. It should be potted in a mixture of sterile potting soil, peat moss, and sand with a liberal amount of bone meal added. Excellent drainage is essential. Keep the soil evenly moist except from November-February when the plant should be kept on the dry side. Feed every two weeks from March through September with a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer. Plants are propagated by divisions and seed, neither of which is difficult. Divisions may take two years to reach blooming size, when grown from seed it will take from seven to ten years before you see your first flower."
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As you can see from this page, you are not providing adequate light for this plant, and you are most likely keeping it too wet. Don't water it every day, water it once a week thoroughly. Most houseplants prefer to get a good drenching instead of a smaller amount of water frequently because if the water doesn't run through the soil, salts from the fertilizer will build up in the soil. Take it to a sink, water it well, and allow the excess water to drain.

The best place for this particular plant would be in an east facing window, so that it gets a few hours of morning sun, then bright indirect light the rest of the day. A north facing window might be ok, or away from windows but in a bright location with lots of natural light. If the only light is artificial, you must know what you're doing. What our eyes perceive as adequate indoor lighting, such as you get from fluorescent or incandescent overhead fixtures, is almost complete darkness from a plant's perspective. Some plants can deal with this, but apparently not a bird of paradise. You need a broad-spectrum fluorescent fixture, or a combination of incandescent and regular fluorescent, located very near the plant if you have the plant in a room with no natural light.

 

[zugzoog]

Originally posted by: polm

I water them with about 1-2 cups of water a day.

Way too much water, most house plants are killed by over watering.

Also might be worth re-potting. Potting mix can become old and stale. Shake off some of the excess and put some new stuff in.

Agree with the natural light, let as much in the room as you can, you will also benefit!

 

[Eli]

First, NEVER cut yellowing leaves off a plant. They are yellowing because the plant has a nutrient deficiency and is feeding off itself. By cutting the leaves off, you are simply causing it to consume itself faster!

Second, you are almost certainly overwatering, unless the damn thing is planted in coarse sand and your house is 80ºF with 25% humidity all the time.

Overwatering is the #2 cause of house plant death.. second only to underwatering.

You need to get some oxygen to those roots.

Mix 2 tablespoons 3% hydrogen peroxide with 1 gallon of water, and water it until there is water pouring through the drainage holes. You want to flush out all that old, stale water and reoxygenate the soil, plus flush out any salt buildup from your constant fertilization.

DO NOT water it again until the pot feels light(Feel it after you water it for a reference). If it is cold and damp in your house and it takes weeks to dry out, you need to speed up the process somehow. Put it in a warmer room if you can...

DO NOT fertilize it. Never, ever fertilize a sick plant. Since your plant has not been getting enough light, it has not been able to use the fertilizer you have been giving it, and it has probably built up in the soil. Especially a garbage fertilizer like Miracle-Gro that has a lot of urea and ammoniacal nitrogen in it, which severely reduces the soil's pH.

What exactly are you giving it for light?

Oh, I forgot to look at the pics.

That is almost definately some sort of deficiency. Looks like.. Hmmm.... probably both phosphorus and potassium. You must flush your soil immediately. Run the whole gallon of H2O2 water through it.

Don't fertilize it again until you see new growth(probably at least not until spring), and then use only 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

 

[zimu]

wow, lot of plant pro's around here....

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: zimu
wow, lot of plant pro's around here....

Heh.. Repotting it might be a better idea. It is difficult to fix fscked up soil.

That is probably the best route. Be gentle, take as much of the old soil off as you can without damaging things too much. Remove any roots that are obviously dead.

Buy a new bag of potting soil and a bag of perlite. Mix the perlite with the soil at 15% or so. This will help greatly with drainage and aeration. This is important for this species, and especially important if your house is cold and damp.

Water it in well, and don't water it again until it is quite dry. Don't let it wilt, of course. Keep misting it.

You can mist it with a very dilute solution of fertilizer(like 1/8 teaspoon per gallon) for the first few mistings to help it recover more quickly, but you're going to have to find a way to get it more light for it to really be effective. Mist both sides of the leaves.

Make sure to switch to plain water after a few mistings, or the fertilizer salts will build up on the leaves and clog their pores.

That pot is quite big. If the top of the soil is dry, use the finger test. Plunge your finger into the soil, you will most likely feel moisture down there. If it's dry more than say 1" down, it probably needs water.

 

[Hyperblaze]

Wonder why it's called "Bird of Paradise"

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Jero
Wonder why it's called "Bird of Paradise"

Because it's flowers remotely resemble a bird, I guess.

 

[Hyperblaze]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Jero
Wonder why it's called "Bird of Paradise"

Because it's flowers remotely resemble a bird, I guess.

I'll take your for it...

"remotely" seems to be the key word in the phrase

 

[MeanMeosh]

that looks like a banana tree =P (that's what we called em in india anyway, dunno if they actually produced bananas :shrug

 

[neonerd]

your pics aren't working...at least for me

anyways, i think someone mentioned it above...they need A LOT of light, and no artificial light does the job in that category...needs to face an window to the east, since that gets the most sunlight. Hope this helps. Post an update later