Causes of Yellowing, Scorched Edges, and Withering in Bird of Paradise Leaves and How to Care for It

Friends with plenty of space at home will most likely place a pot of bird of paradise (Strelitzia) in their home, mainly because its leaves are large and the whole plant is big enough to look impressive.

However, what follows is the problem of not knowing how to care for it afterwards! Some flower enthusiasts have even posted on forums to complain that the bird of paradise they bought for 400 yuan at the time could not be kept for even half a year before the large leaves grew fewer and fewer and thinner and thinner, and the small leaves at the bottom slowly began to wither and turn yellow. It really is nice to look at but hard to grow.

In fact, a situation similar to this flower enthusiast's is a common problem when growing large foliage plants, and even worse, leaf splitting, yellowing, and withering can also occur. So how can you avoid the bird of paradise shrinking and splitting? The care techniques are explained below.

First, you need to know that the bird of paradise is a rainforest plant, and what it needs most is light. If you place it indoors and do not let it see light, then its lifespan will be shortened. The correct approach is to place it in the position closest to your window, the closer the better! Only in this way can it receive enough sunlight.

Second, if its leaves turn black and rot, it may be because you watered it too much, because the bird of paradise cannot tolerate waterlogging. Before watering, first check whether the potting soil is dry and pale. If you find that it is, you can first loosen the soil, and then water it thoroughly in one go. Only by doing this is it less likely to rot the roots. If the leaves turn yellow and wither or split, it may be because the air is too dry. At this time, you need to use a misting spray bottle to spray water on the entire leaf, and remember to spray the back of the leaves as well, so that it can absorb it better. Flower enthusiasts in the south can spray once a day, while in the north, where the weather is dry, it needs to be sprayed once each in the morning, noon, and evening.

Finally, if the bird of paradise has leaves that cannot stand upright and feel soft to the touch, then the most likely reason is a lack of fertilizer. At this time, you can give it some sheep manure or liquid fertilizer. The best time to fertilize is to apply a slow-release fertilizer once every three months.