Bird of Paradise Indoors

Bird of Paradise Indoors

I bought my first Bird of Paradise three years ago after seeing one at a friend’s apartment. It was tall, dramatic, and honestly made me feel like I had my life together just by owning it. Fast forward to now, and I’ve learned that these plants are not as low-maintenance as I thought. They’re not impossible, but they do ask for specific things if you want them to actually thrive instead of just survive.

If you’re thinking about getting one or you already have one that’s looking sad, here’s what I’ve figured out.

Maximum light for growth

The Bird of Paradise needs a lot of light. I’m not talking about “bright indirect light” in the vague Instagram sense. I mean this plant wants to see the sun. In its natural habitat in South Africa, it grows in full sun. Indoors, we can’t replicate that perfectly, but we can get close.

Mine sits right next to a south-facing window. During summer, it gets direct sun for about four to five hours in the morning, and then bright indirect light for the rest of the day. That’s the sweet spot. If your only option is an east or west-facing window, that can work too, but growth will be slower. I tried keeping one in a north-facing room once because I thought it would “adapt.” It didn’t die, but it also didn’t grow a single new leaf in eight months.

According to research from the University of Florida’s Environmental Horticulture Department, Bird of Paradise plants need at least six hours of bright light daily for healthy growth. Less than that and they start to stretch, the leaves get smaller, and forget about ever seeing flowers indoors (which is already rare enough).

If you don’t have a super bright window, you can supplement with a grow light. I use one during winter when the days get shorter. It’s not fancy, just a full-spectrum LED that I keep on for about 12 hours a day. The plant doesn’t know the difference.

One more thing: rotate your plant every week or two. These things are heliotropic, which is a fancy way of saying they lean toward the light. If you don’t turn them, you’ll end up with a lopsided plant that looks like it’s trying to escape.

Watering large plants

Watering a Bird of Paradise is tricky because it’s a big plant in a big pot, and the soil doesn’t dry out evenly. The top two inches might feel dry, but six inches down it could still be damp. I learned this the hard way when I overwatered mine and saw the edges of the leaves turn brown and crispy.

Here’s what works for me now. I check the soil with my finger first, but I also use a moisture meter. I stick it deep into the pot, about halfway down, to see what’s actually happening in the root zone. I only water when the meter reads dry or barely moist at that depth. For my plant in a 14-inch pot, that usually means watering every 10 to 14 days in summer and every three weeks in winter.

When I do water, I water thoroughly. I take the plant to the bathtub (because it’s heavy and I don’t want to drag a saucer across my floor) and water until it runs out the drainage holes. Then I let it sit for 20 minutes and dump out any excess water still in the tub. The goal is to make sure the entire root ball gets wet, not just the top layer.

The size of the plant makes this more annoying than watering a pothos, but it’s necessary. According to North Carolina State University Extension, Bird of Paradise plants are sensitive to both overwatering and underwatering, and the key is letting the top few inches dry out between waterings while avoiding completely dry soil deeper down.

One trick I picked up from a gardening forum: if your plant is really large and you can’t move it easily, use a watering can with a long spout and water slowly in a circular pattern around the pot. Give it time to soak in instead of flooding the surface and having it run off to the sides.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Why the leaves curl up

When I first noticed my Bird of Paradise leaves curling inward like a taco shell, I panicked. I thought I was killing it. Turns out, this is usually the plant’s way of telling you something about its environment.

The most common reason is low humidity. Bird of Paradise plants come from subtropical regions where the air holds a lot of moisture. Most of our homes, especially in winter with the heat running, are way too dry. I noticed the curling got worse when my indoor humidity dropped below 40 percent.

I tried misting at first because that’s what the internet told me to do, but misting doesn’t actually raise humidity for more than a few minutes. What helped was putting a humidifier near the plant. I run it during the day and aim for around 50 to 60 percent humidity. The leaves uncurled within a week.

Another reason for curling is underwatering. If the soil gets too dry for too long, the plant curls its leaves to reduce the surface area and conserve water. This happened to me once when I went on vacation and forgot to ask someone to water. The leaves curled tight, and some of the edges turned crispy. I watered deeply when I got back, and the newer leaves came in fine, but the damaged ones stayed curled.

Less commonly, curling can be a reaction to too much direct sun or heat stress. I haven’t had this problem, but I’ve read that if a Bird of Paradise is right against a window in intense afternoon sun, especially in summer, the leaves can curl to protect themselves. Moving the plant back a foot or two usually fixes it.

The University of Georgia Extension notes that environmental stress is the primary cause of leaf curling in tropical plants, and adjusting humidity and watering usually resolves it.

Managing the size indoors

Let me be honest: Bird of Paradise plants get big. Mine is now close to six feet tall, and I’ve seen them reach eight or nine feet indoors if they’re happy. If you live in a small apartment like I do, this can become a problem.

The good news is you can control the size somewhat. The easiest way is to keep it in a slightly smaller pot. I know everyone says to repot when the plant is rootbound, but if you want to limit growth, leaving it a bit cramped actually helps. My plant has been in the same 14-inch pot for two years, and while it’s definitely rootbound, it’s not suffering. It still puts out new leaves, just not as aggressively.

If the plant does get too tall, you can prune it. I haven’t done this yet because I’m still enjoying the height, but I’ve researched it enough to know how. You can cut older stems down to the base using clean pruning shears. This won’t hurt the plant, and it will redirect energy into new growth. Some people cut back half the stems to keep the plant dense but shorter.

You can also remove outer leaves if the plant is getting too wide. I do this occasionally when a leaf gets damaged or starts to yellow. I cut it as close to the base as possible. It keeps the plant looking tidy and opens up space.

Another option is division, but that’s more work. You’d have to unpot the plant, separate the root clumps, and replant them in smaller pots. I haven’t tried this because I don’t want two Bird of Paradise plants, but it’s an option if you’re running out of room.

If you’re worried about size before you buy, look for the smaller variety, Strelitzia reginae, which typically stays under six feet. There’s also Strelitzia nicolai, the white Bird of Paradise, which gets massive (like 20 feet outdoors), so maybe skip that one unless you have a very large space.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Cleaning pests off leaves

Bird of Paradise leaves are huge and smooth, which makes them dust magnets. Dust isn’t just ugly. It blocks light from reaching the leaf surface, which slows down photosynthesis. I wipe mine down every few weeks with a damp microfiber cloth. I support the leaf from underneath with one hand and gently wipe the top with the other. It takes maybe 10 minutes, and the plant looks so much better after.

But dust isn’t the only problem. I’ve dealt with spider mites twice, and both times I didn’t catch them early enough. The first sign was tiny yellow spots on the leaves. When I looked closer with a flashlight, I could see the webbing on the undersides. Spider mites love dry conditions, which explains why they showed up in winter when my humidity was low.

I treated them by spraying the entire plant with a mix of water and a few drops of dish soap. I made sure to coat the undersides of the leaves where the mites hang out. I repeated this every three days for two weeks. It worked, but it was annoying. Now I inspect the undersides of the leaves regularly and keep the humidity up, which seems to prevent them.

I’ve also seen scale insects once. They look like little brown bumps stuck to the stems and leaves. I scraped them off with my fingernail and then wiped the area with rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad. According to the University of California’s Integrated Pest Management program, this is an effective method for small infestations.

Some people use neem oil for pests, and I’ve tried it, but I don’t love the smell and it left a residue on the leaves. The soap and water method works fine for me.

If you do find pests, isolate the plant if you can. I learned this the hard way when spider mites spread from my Bird of Paradise to a nearby monstera. Now if I see anything suspicious, I move the plant away from the others until I’ve dealt with it.

One last thing: don’t use leaf shine products. They might make the leaves glossy, but they can clog the pores and attract more dust. Just stick with water and a cloth.

References

University of Florida Environmental Horticulture Department. “Growing Bird of Paradise.” EDIS Publication.

North Carolina State University Extension. “Strelitzia reginae.” Plant Toolbox.

University of Georgia Extension. “Environmental Stress in Tropical Houseplants.”

University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. “Scales: Management Guidelines.”