Splitting Strelitzias!

[moonbells]

My bird of paradise has been growing leaves at all angles for the past year, and seems to have split into three crowns. And after two years of just single flower stems, I've now got three growing! Hurrah!

EJ and other BofP fans, how big do they need to get before you split the actual plants up? Or is it just a case of carry on repotting...?

moonbells

[moonbells]

[laurieuk]

If you are getting more than one flower spike I would leave well alone and just pot on to a larger pot.I had one for many years and used metal lawn edging around the top of the pot as they tend to grow upwards out of the pot. No doubt you could split it up in which case I would tend to let it go almost dry before disturbing it and then make sure you have more than one crown for each new pot, but with careful feeding I would leave it alone.

[Mrs Ava]

Well, funnily enough MB, mine has also split into three, and one of the sections has practically fallen over.  My darling is constructing a very impressive planter for me in the conservatory - photos to follow - so the plan later in the week is to get the moster out of it's pot and take a saw to it!  Mine is huge - stands 6 foot tall, and has been getting more and more flowers every year, but it is going to end up damaged if we just leave it, so we are chancing it.  I have read that they can be split so I am not overly worried, plus I have loads of babies that we have been growing from seeds, so if the worst thing happens....I will only have to wait 10 or so years before my new babies flower....... :-\  I will take photos and let you know how easy it is to split.

[ACE]

Mine is just the same it has actually split the pot. I am going to divide it later this year. I do not know a lot about the plant but was told that they prefer being cramped as it encourages them to flower. So I shall just trim the edges and shoehorn  the bulk of the plant into another pot. Lets hope it works.

[moonbells]

I shall watch this space then!

I have had another seed germinate and pop up over the weekend, so I too am getting reserves, though probably won' t split mine until next summer. Last time I repotted it, the beggar had to be cut out of the pot as the fleshy roots had grown out of the base!  Maybe next summer when I can put it on the lawn and wrestle it out!

moonbells