People are entitled to believe what they want to believe about what their climate zone is. I wouldn't make a claim that parts of downtown Sacramento could ever be considered almost a zone 10a, just as I think it is a stretch to consider my part of Berkeley a reliable zone 10a, although it may be 9 out of 10 winters. We are talking about Strelitzia nicholai here, the Ravenella simply doesn't tolerate northern California winters, the soils stay too wet and cold and they rot away. While there may be the occasional Strelitzia nicholai in downtown Sacramento up against buildings which benefit from reradiated heat and don't tend to look frozen back after each winter, the foliage will get zapped in a major way when temps drop below freezing here. In a hot summer area like Sacto, they will regrow new foliage more quickly, but the mature size will be restricted by being frozen back so often. This plant would really only be suitable as a long term specimen, in my opinion, where it is up against a wall or protected by an overhang or evergreen trees. Out in the open in a Sacramento garden, it will tend to get frozen browned foliage almost every winter, and 25F temps will kill it back to the ground. They can bloom at smaller sizes, I've seen 15 gallon sized plants in southern California that may only have had 3 feet of trunk blooming, as I've also had some that were relatively young and foliage topped out at 10 feet bloom here in Oakland. I've also got one in my front yard that has 10 feet of trunk that has never bloomed yet. Full sun, hotter weather year round and regular feeding will encourage them to bloom at smaller sizes, and also being planted in the ground. Not to discourage someone from planting one in a USDA zone 9b climate here in northern California, but be prepared to cover them if you don't like looking at burnt foliage for 6 months out of the year after a freeze. They do burn foliage right at 32F here in Berkeley, if it is more than just an hour or two.

Found a large bird of paradise plant in garbage, leaves are brown around edges, and baby leaf is brown, can it be saved?

Cutting it out would be a waste of an efficient photosynthesis machine. At least wait until it unfurls fully to see what it looks like.

I live in the northeast and I have plants I take outside every year in the summer.This year after bringing my Bird of paradise inside, it got this white fuzz allover it and the plant is suffering badly. It is also spreading to other plants. It looks like mealybugs according to my research but I haven't seen one bug anywhere. It could also be powdery mildew... Any comments and recommendations would be helpful