"Hardy" is such a relative term. To my knowledge, no Bird of Paradise comes anywhere near being hardy except in zones 8 or warmer which is completely out of our league in the frozen north. I once grew the regular old bird of paradise from seed without any problems. As I remember I just planted the things, kept them kind of warm and they germinated in a few weeks. Also, is there a particular variety of B of P which goes by the name 'Hardy Bird of Paradise'? I couldn't find anything when I Googled. Kevin

birds of paradise need HOT HOT weather to thrive. if their soil is under 60 at night they do not grow much, anything under 40 will damage roots and cause yellowing leaves. they like plenty of water but also need to dry out between waterings (they love sandy soils), too wet (heavy soil) and leaves yellow also. they are heavy feeders during their growth periods of daytime temps over 80 and nights over 70. here in orlando this past winter we had near record cold temps several times and we actually had leaf damage on BOP's where they were planted w/o wind protection. a very rare thing to happen this far south. i collect birds of paradise, so far i have 4 types w/ several of each. they are one of my favorite landscape plants as they are impervious in the central/south fl landscape. ~ liz

When too much water in the grow medium limits the availability of oxygen, it becomes very difficult for the plant to take up Ca, a nutrient essential to normal cell wall formation. When the cell walls later fail and its contents dry out, it leaves holes and tears in the leaves. Also, leaves that emerge when humidity is at or beyond the limits the plant is programmed to tolerate, the still closed leaves tend to stick to themselves, which also causes tears in the leaf. Necrotic leaf tips and margins are also symptoms consistent with but not exclusive to over-watering. I suggest you start using a "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water instead of a finger check of the top inch or two of the soil and watering when it feels dry. That is widely given advice that will almost always lead to over-watering when pots are deeper than about 5". The only time it wouldn't be a recipe for over-watering would be when the grower understands the severe limitations imposed by over-watering and has adopted a strategy that takes it out of play. See "tell" below. Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al

Indoors, we can never achieve photo load offered by full sun outdoors. The primary reasons are A) some of the light energy is turned to heat as light is partially absorbed by the glass. Even a single lite of single strength window glass can reduce the amount of light that passes through the window by 20% or more. Insulating glass windows, tinted windows, and windows with pyrolytic coatings designed to reflect each work individually or collectively to reduce available light, and B) winter sun is less 'intense' because as the earth tilts on its axis, light has to travel a much greater distance through the atmosphere before it reaches the earth's surface. Every dust particle and droplet of moisture cause reflection and refraction which cause light to be reflected or change direction such that a significant amount refracted and reflected photons once on a direct course toward earth never reach the earth's surface. BTW - The angle at which the sunlight strikes a surface has a big influence on how much light energy is reflected. When the sun is lowest in the sky (winter equinox - 21 Dec), it is much closer to being perpendicular to the a vertical surface of your window (0* angle of incidence) which ensures the best opportunity for light transmission. so the trouble with winter sun isn't how low it is in the sky, it's how far it has to travel through the atmosphere, as noted in B above. The plant might or might not need a new pot. Odds are high that it does, but now isn't the best time to be repotting. What determines whether or not it does need repotting is how congested the roots are, and there is nothing in the info you supplied to cause anyone to conclude the roots are congested. The best way to tell is by lifting the plant from its pot. If the root/soil mass remains completely intact, it needs repotting; however, that doesn't mean it's essential or a good idea to do it when recovery will be lengthened considerably due to limitations on the plant's metabolic processes due to it being winter - low light, dry air, often cool temps. There is a difference between repotting and potting up. Repotting includes bare-rooting, root pruning or dividing, and a change of the grow medium. for you, the best time to repot would be around the summer solstice (21 Jun) - or Father's Day. If you feel like you really need to 'do something', even if it only makes you feel better, it makes more sense to pot up to a slightly larger pot and plan and plan ahead for the Jun repot. Using a digital device (a finger) as the tool that decides whether or not it's appropriate to water works reasonably well if your pot isn't too deep, maybe 5" or less. IF the pot is deeper than that, say 10", the top 2" could feel completely dry even while the bottom 6" of the soil column is still 100% saturated; so, unless your pot is quite small, the advice to follow the 2" finger test is pretty much a recipe for over-watering. I'd suggest you save cutting any roots for the Jun repot. Our plants' level of vitality varies significantly over the course of an annual growth cycle. Serious work like repotting and any heavy pruning or roots OR shoots should be timed so the plant has a high level of energy reserves and its ability to make food (during photosynthesis the plant makes its own food - sugar/glucose) is about to peak. That occurs around the summer solstice/Father's Day. Too, thinking ahead so we're not stressing plants during the times they're just sort of coasting, and planning work to take advantage of their most robust periods makes us feel like we're being better nurturers - most likely because we would be. Sometimes when relative humidity is low, leaves stick together and tears holes are ripped in the leaf as it unfurls. The leaf you provided the image of looks more like cells (and therefore tissue) aren't forming normally due to not enough Ca(lcium) in the nutrient stream. This occurs when A) there is not enough Ca in the medium and available for uptake, or B) a cultural influence is limiting the plant's ability to take up Ca, even though it might be represented in the grow medium at adequate/appropriate levels. B is a VERY common issue, and can occur whenever there is too much water in the grow medium, the medium is badly compacted, or when there is inadequate light, humidity is high, or temps are cool. The primary driver of a culturally induced Ca deficiency is over-watering. My suggestions: * When the plant next needs water, flush the soil thoroughly. First, water with room temperature water until the soil is completely saturated. Allow the planting to rest for 15 minutes to an hour to allow as much of any salt that has accumulated in the soil to go into solution. Then pour a volume of room temp water equal to at least 10X the volume of the pot the plant is in slowly through the soil. This will remove most of any accumulation of offending salts and resolve any skewing of nutrient ratios. Residual salts in the medium from tapwater and fertilizer solutions can limit water and nutrient uptake. Also, lift the pot so it sits above any effluent that collects in the collection saucer. This eliminates the current pathway by which the effluent can make its way back into the soil. * After flushing the soil, fertilize immediately. I highly recommend using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 as your 'go to' produce for nutritional supplementation. Thereafter, make sure you're watering to beyond the point of saturation, so you're flushing the soil as you water. The entire soil column should be saturated and at least 20% of the water you apply should exit the drain hole. Fertilize about every 4th or 5th time you water. I use FP 9-3-6 for virtually everything I grow and the reasons are numerous. Ask, if you want a rundown. * Start using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water. See below, 'Using a Tell'. If you like, you can remove some of the worst offenders when it comes to the plant's footprint. If it was my plant, I'd plan to bare-root/repot and cut it back hard in Jun. I'd use a very chunky grow medium like: Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Questions or concerns? Al