The new leaves will all emerge from the center of the plant, and each leaf will be taller than the last one. I've never had one get bushy because mine have to live indoors in a pot since I'm not in a tropical zone, That doesn't mean they'll never sprout a "baby" at the plant base but mine never have, and as far as I can tell that's the only way they'll ever be fuller. Love that basket!!!

hi Marcy,

thank you for your reply...i am relieved that new leaves will emerge. my BOP will be kept indoors too. how long have you had yours? i live in zone 8B, Vancouver, Canada so i don't think it would ever flower either. i like the leafy green look of it but i wouldn't mind being surprised in a few years time.

the basket is from Ikea!!

Laurie

I had two that I've had for about 5 years, but one developed a nasty case of scale and I opted to get rid of it before I ended up with a massive outbreak in my sunroom. They are beautiful plants, and mostly easy care......knock on wood!! LOL! yours is a beauty! Mine were tiny when I got them. I live in a very rural area and don't have a lot of selection here. Thanks for the basket info! Of course no IKEA around here but a cousin always requests a gift idea for me for Christmas and she has one near her! Good luck with it!

hi cassandra!

lovely plants!! are there 2 BOP in that pot? they look so healthy!

thanks for answering about the 5/1/1! it sounds like i can use the 5/1/1 mix for almost everything!

@Marcy- i hope you get the basket this Christmas! what lucky plant would have it as their home?

is scale "infectious"? how would it transfer to other plants?

Yeah, I moved a lot of my plants in to it and it really is as awesome as it's cracked up to be. Make sure you add the lime though. There's technically 3 plants in the pot, That's how they were when I bought it, but much smaller. Next summer I will need to separate them because they are so large now.

Your plant is very pretty and looks quite healthy. It might not give you a lot of new growth since "winter is coming" ;) but give it enough light and water when it's needed and it will be happy and produce for you taller leaves from the center like Marcy mentioned!

Scale is an insect and is in fact "infectious" there are many different types. Just keep an eye out on the undersides of your leaves especially for anything funky. Most of the time I think if you catch it early you can deal with it easily enough.

thank you for the advice, Cassandra!

FWIW - root congestion will cause growth to stall and vitality to wane, so plan on repotting and/or dividing every 2-3 years.

Things good to know:

* Repotting is more extensive than potting up.

* The plant blooms better when roots are tight, but the stress of tight roots negatively affects vitality and growth rate, so find what you consider to be your balance point, but don't let it decline to the point it's circling the drain before you do an intervention.

* It will do much better in the 5:1:1 or equal, than in most off the shelf versions of container media. If I'm to be precise, I should say the soil provides much better opportunity to for your plant to do well than most off the shelf versions of container media. I added the 'opportunity' qualifier because there are influences of the 'make or break' variety, other than media, that can be limiting to the degree it won't matter if your plant is in even the 'perfect' soil.

* You should also take some time to think about an appropriate nutritional supplementation regimen, and it should be based on soil choice and watering habits.

Al

hi Al!! i sent you a pm about my FLF yesterday seeking your wisdom!

I'm at least 200 GW/Houzz messages behind ..... and I'll never catch up, but I'll look for it tomo after a.m. chores. Just getting ready to retire now - midnight here.

Al

lol thank you Al! no rush...i might have to wait till June anyways lol ;)

many thanks! nite

Hi, your BOP looks great. They do take a lot of light for best results and much less water in the winter. They are not the fastest growers but do well. This is one of my favourites. As soon as I found out the name I had to have one. I grow a couple here in zone 5b

Here is my youngest in the greenhouse

This one I've only had for 3 years and it's starting to pup at the base. Maybe it'll flower in the next year or two?

awesome pictures Mark! do you keep your BOPs outdoors in pots? yours might get enough light to flower?! that would be so cool! would you ever plant them in ground? i read that they become very large. mine would strictly be an indoors baby. so it will probably never flower,darnit!