A Guide to Growing Potted Bird of Paradise: Cultivation Methods and Pest and Disease Control

Growing Habits of the Bird of Paradise Flower

The bird of paradise flower is native to southern Africa and is a subtropical long-day plant. It prefers a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight, fears severe cold, and dislikes extreme heat, drought, and waterlogging. It requires loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam with a pH of 6 to 7. The suitable temperature during the growing period is 20 to 28°C. It is cultivated in parks and flower nurseries in major cities in southern China, while in the north it is grown in greenhouses.

Propagation Methods for the Bird of Paradise Flower

1. Sowing: Under ordinary cultivation conditions, the bird of paradise flower must be hand-pollinated to set seed. Before sowing, select large, plump seeds with smooth seed coats that are fresh, undamaged, and free of pests and diseases. Soak the seeds in warm water at 30 to 40°C for 4 to 5 days, then disinfect them for 5 minutes in a 5% benzalkonium bromide solution diluted 1000 times. The sowing time is from May to July. Use spot sowing, cover with 1 to 1.5 cm of soil, water, and then cover with plastic film to keep warm and retain moisture. The suitable germination temperature is 25 to 30°C. After sowing, they will germinate in 15 to 20 days, emerging gradually.

2. Division: Division propagation of the bird of paradise flower is carried out in early spring from February to March, in conjunction with repotting and soil replacement. Tip the plant out of the pot, gently remove the old soil around the outside of the root ball, and be careful not to break the fleshy roots. Let it dry in a shaded place for 1 to 2 days. Once the root system has softened, use a sharp knife to cut away the sucker shoots growing around the roots from the gaps between the roots, keeping roots attached, so that each small clump has 2 to 3 buds, and each bud has 2 to 3 fleshy roots. Apply plant ash to the cut surfaces to let them dry and form a protective layer, then replant in a wooden tub, ceramic vat, or deep white plastic pot.

Cultivation Methods for the Bird of Paradise Flower

1. Potting soil: The bird of paradise flower has thick, fleshy roots, so it can be prepared by mixing 5 parts leaf mold or peat soil, 3 parts garden soil, 1 part decomposed manure soil, and 1 part coarse sand. If the prepared growing medium has poor permeability, combined with excessive watering, it can very easily cause root rot. Because its root system is well developed and grows quickly, it needs to be repotted in a timely manner.

2. Temperature: The bird of paradise flower likes a warm, humid, semi-shaded environment. The suitable growing temperature is 12°C to 25°C, and the indoor temperature in winter should preferably be kept above 5°C. It is suited to growing in loose, deep humus soil. Its natural flowering period is autumn and winter; if temperature, light, fertilizer, and water are suitable, it can bloom in all four seasons, and each flower can remain open for more than a month.

3. Watering: Water the bird of paradise flower by the principle of watering when dry and letting it dry between waterings. In summer, watering should be ample. In spring and summer, also frequently spray water on the leaves and sprinkle water on the ground around the flower pot to increase air humidity, create a cool environment, and benefit its growth and development. After late autumn, watering should be reduced, and in winter watering should be controlled, with it being better to keep the potting soil on the drier side.

4. Fertilizing: During the growing period, the bird of paradise flower requires a dilute liquid fertilizer once every half month. For home cultivation, it is best to water with fermented rice-washing water or soybean soaking liquid. From the formation of the flower stem to the full flowering period, 0.5% superphosphate can be added to the fertilizer solution, which will make the flower colors bloom more brilliantly.

5. Light: The bird of paradise flower needs no fewer than 4 hours of direct light each day, and ideally bright light all day long. When sunlight is intense, take some protective measures. In winter, the main flowering period, ample sunlight helps increase flower production. Light regulation emphasizes the management principle of not being shaded in winter and not being exposed in summer. Under shaded conditions, the plant's leaves look more beautiful, but the number of flowers will be relatively fewer.

Pest and Disease Control for the Bird of Paradise Flower

1. Anthracnose: It damages leaves and stems. The lesions are round, bordered by a reddish-brown line, with a brownish-gray, flat center. When conditions are suitable, conidia spread by splashing water and invade through wounds, and the disease is likely to occur when humidity is high. When diseased leaves are found, cut them off along the edges, or remove the diseased leaves and burn or bury them deeply. Spray with 25% carbendazim? No: 25% tebuconazole? Use the source: 25% tanter? Translate as: 25% carbendazim? Use given: 25% Tanter? Keep as: 25% Tanling wettable powder 500 times solution or 40% polysulfide suspension concentrate.

2. Root rot: When root rot is found, disinfect the soil and control watering in a timely manner, remove the rotten roots, and spread quicklime in the soil or disinfect the soil with 70% quintozene. In the early stage of the disease, alternately spray the plants or drench the roots with 50% lichuning wettable powder 800 times solution, or 50% benomyl wettable powder 1000 times solution, or 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 500 times solution, once every 10 days.

3. Wilt disease: The vascular bundles of affected plants are infected, and symptoms generally appear only at the mature plant stage. In the early stage, leaves appear water-deficient or show yellow patches, net-like faded spots, and so on. Severely diseased plants shed leaves one after another, and eventually the whole plant dies. Remove diseased residues and burn them in a concentrated manner. In the early stage of the disease, spray with 72% agricultural streptomycin soluble powder 4000 times solution or xinzhiromycin 4000 times solution, once every 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive applications.

4. Leaf spot: When diseased plants are found, remove them promptly and burn them in a concentrated manner. Prune away diseased leaves and apply 30% alkaline copper sulfate suspension to the wounds or cut surfaces. In the early stage of the disease, spray the leaf surfaces with 30% basic copper sulfate suspension 400 times solution or 70% zineb wettable powder 500 times solution once every 10 days, for 2 to 3 consecutive applications.

5. Gray mold: During the period of onset, use 80% captafol wettable powder 500 times solution, or 75% chlorothalonil 500 times solution, or thiophanate 500 to 800 times solution, or 50% carbendazim 1000 times solution, or 50% iprodione wettable powder 1500 times solution, or 60% kangjunling wettable powder 500 times solution for spray control.

6. Greenhouse whitefly: Taking advantage of the strong attraction of greenhouse whiteflies to yellow, use sticky oil on yellow boards to trap and kill them, or spray with 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate 1000 times solution. Because the insects are on the undersides of the leaves, when spraying, be careful to spray the leaf undersides thoroughly.

7. Carmine spider mite: Affected leaves first show small yellowish-white spots. In severe cases, the leaves curl, turn yellow, and fall off, affecting growth or preventing flowering. Adult mites are 0.5 to 0.6 mm long. Females are oval, from vermilion to rust-red, or dark brown. Males are slightly diamond-shaped, pale yellow, and slightly smaller. They like to gather on the undersides of leaves to feed, and this pest is prone to outbreaks in hot, dry seasons. Use 20% dicofol emulsifiable concentrate 800 times solution, or 73% propargite 2000 times solution.

8. White scale: Adults and nymphs fix themselves on stems and leaves, piercing and sucking leaf sap, causing leaves to lose green color, show yellow spots, and turn black, leading to early shedding and even death. Prune off and burn infested leaves, or scrape the insects off the leaves with a knife. For newly hatched larvae, use 40% dimethoate emulsion 1000 times solution for control. In summer, when temperatures are high and it is the active period of scale insects, use 10% imidacloprid powder 2000 times solution for control.