Believe it or not, there are afew Siberians in that area. If you look to the right of the very first picture you will see one blooming behind the daylilies and in front of the rock wall. I only have about 6 different Siberians in this garden area. The rest are in other areas of the garden. I had planted some out front last year, but this year added to it and planted even more. Its just that the so called clumps are so small (I am lucky if they are four fans) that they are difficult to notice.

Yes, you can prune it and prune it hard. New growth will come up from below. Fertilizer will make it grow a bit faster and have a darker green color, but your real enemy is the wind. Even a slight gust can tear the fragile leaves. BOP rarely looks good unless it's in a place where little to no wind can get at it.

Step by step instructions for removing large bird of paradise. Tools needed: pic-axe, chain saw, recipical saw (with longest blades you can get), spade shovel with strong handle, 4' 4x4 pressure treated post, come-along, 1' of heavy duty metal chain with stong "S" link for connecting chain ends together. Instructions: Step#1. Use chain saw to cut plant stems down to about a foot above the ground. Step#2. Dig around and under root ball of plant as much as possible. Step#3. Starting on an outer side of the plant that has at least a 5 feet of clearance; cut down and around a section of the plant / root ball (not too big about 1') with reciprocal saw. Step#4. Put the 4x4 post down in the ground about 4' from plant section in step#3 with a slight angle away from the plant leave about 1' above ground and pack dirt tightly. Step#5. Put chain around exposed 4x4 post, wrap section of plant to be removed with cable end of come-along, connect other end of come-along to chain and ratchet come-along to put pressure on plant section to be removed. Step#6, pic-axe to seperate root ball section or maybe use shovel; add come-along pressure as needed. Use care when working with come-along cable under tension. I used this method yestetday and its working good for me, I'm about a fouth of the way done. My back is sore, for these plants are hard a heck to remove; just know your limitations and be safe. Also try not to cut into the dirt with chain saw, it will dull the chain, but for the cost of a chain verses a chiropractor and pain, I'm using chain saw down deep. Hope this helps Eddie K. Palm Bay, Fl.

How did your move go? We had to dig up a large BOP that had an intrusive shefflera with several large trunks growing in the middle of it. We had not intended to remove the entire plant, but ended up digging around it and pulling it out with a truck. This is the plant - fully 7 foot wide - before we bothered it - We took the opportunity to divide the plant, transplant some of them and shared the rest with neighbors. It didn't seem to suffer, as in foliage looking bad, but it sure looked sad for a while after we replanted what was left. Now a year later, it is looking nice, albeit smaller. It has also bloomed! I was told they would not bloom for a couple of years after moving them. I KNOW we messed up a lot of roots, but it weathered the disruption well. I know you have (or had) a big job on your hands, but I think your plant will be fine. Good luck!! And let us see the results.