How Often to Water Bird of Paradise (Signs of underwatering and overwatering)

It was a challenging process to figure out how much water my birds of paradise needed, but through some trial and error, I learned everything I needed to know. Now, my plant is blooming happily and healthy.

If you don’t have time to learn about their watering needs, don’t worry—I’ll cover everything briefly here to give you the knowledge you need. So, what are waiting for? Don’t waste your time, let’s learn to water them together.

Quick takeaways:

• The birds of paradise are easy to grow by providing them with any indoor area. 
• They used to bloom during the late winter or early spring and also at other times if you provide them with optimal conditions.
• Watering should be done to the birds of paradise to ensure they thrive for as long as possible. 
• When it is time for propagating the birds of paradise it will become difficult when the soil is dry because watering them after reaching the dry state increases the difficulty. 
• You need to start watering remedies in advance to avoid any problems in the future.

Overview of bird of paradise:

Common Name	Bird of paradise, crane flower
Botanical Name	Strelitzia reginae, Strelitzia nicolai
Family	Bird of Paradise, crane flower
Plant Type	Herbaceous perennial
Mature Size	3.5-6 ft. tall, 3-4 ft. wide
Sun Exposure	Full to partial
Soil Type	Loamy
Bloom Time	Late winter to early spring
Soil pH	Slightly acidic
The Flower Color	Orange or white
Hardiness Zones	10-12 (USDA)
Native Area	Africa (South Africa)
Toxicity	Toxic to pets

How Much Water for the Bird of Paradise?

The bird of paradise is considered a tropical houseplant in the world which prefers to live in moist soil like each tropical plant loves. The plant does consist of thick stems that enable them to retain a lot of moisture and when it starts to get dry it helps them to remain healthy and hydrated.

The strelitzia is not a plant that needs its soil to remain moist between watering because these are the plant that likes to remain dry when they are not watered. It’s really important to maintain moist soil for birds of paradise.

The birds of paradise do have large leaves due to which they lose a lot of moisture to the environment. There is a need to maintain watering the plant about 2 or 3 times per week during spring and summer months.

Avoid watering birds of paradise less during the fall and winter months because here they get in the dormant stage and don’t need as much energy to grow at this time. But here you need to ensure the soil is always moist hence no requirements of watering them daily.

Watering birds of paradise in dormant stages will cause root rot if they get to sit in wet soil for a longer period of time. You can help to escape excess water from a pot that has a drainage hole.

Factors Affecting Bird of Paradise Watering Frequency:

Yes, watering birds of paradise is considered vital but the amount and frequency of water needed by plants vary depending on factors like the type of bird of paradise, the origin, and what environment and seasons they are living in.

The following are some tips that decide how often to water birds of paradise indoors:

Age of Plant:

• In case of having an immature or having a plant that you planted recently, then you need to water the plant daily or every other day. 
• In the case of Birds of Paradise is mature and can handle the sun when it’s left out for a long time without wilting hence it’s possible to leave the plant without adding any additional moisture to the leaves.

Size of Bird of Paradise:

• If the size of the plant is larger then there is a need for more frequent watering.
• A small size of birds of paradises do require 1-2 times per week of water while the larger bird needs  3-4 times per week.

Watering needs of birds of paradise in Winter:

• With the season change of weather and cooler temperature the process of the birds of paradise, growth slows done and even goes dormant.
• When the plant is in dormant season it requires very little water for survival.
• The drop of moisture that remains deep in the soil because of cooler weather reduces evaporation. 

Watering needs of birds of paradise in Fall and Spring:

• You need to adjust the schedule of watering according to the moisture they have in the spring and fall months.
• There is a need to increase the frequency and volume of watering birds of paradise as the seasons change but in the early spring, the plants don’t need much water.
• During the fall season, it is warm enough due to which it requires watering to keep the plants healthy.

Watering needs of birds of paradise in Summer:

• In the summer season, the birds of paradise reach to peak of bloom where the plant is most beautiful.
• There is a need to provide the plant with more water to allow new leaves to grow.
• Here the plant converts water and air into sugar with the help of sunlight and photosynthesis.
• During this time, the amount of light and water needed does increase for making food as a consequence it will increase the output of energy from them. 
• In summer it’s more difficult for the growing medium of birds of paradise to retain sufficient moisture because the temperature and humidity change will lead to a faster evaporation process which further depends on the location where you are keeping it. 

During the Flowering Process:

• The birds of paradise do require a lot of energy to flower that’s why they need to work hard. 
• Just look at the soil all around the flowerbeds and wait to have the luck to have flowers in your yard. 
• You need to provide the plant with extra watering as the spathes open, and new flowers emerge.

Signs of Under Watered or Overwatered:

Yes, underwatering and overwatering are two conditions that do have the same signs so there is a need to identify where the problem so here is a quick summary to help you get a better idea of whether or not water birds of paradise.

Under watered Bird of Paradise Signs

• The plant will look dry, and curled, and have dusty foliage indicating it started wilting.
•  When the plant is underwatered the potting mix will not smell rotten.
• You will find dust and dryness in the top of the soil.
• Here you will find breaking or splitting foliage with brittle margins.
• The plant will have a dry potting soil mix.
• The leaves edges and tips of the plant will be crispy and browned. 
• You will see lower leaves getting brown and shriveled.

Signs of Overwatered Bird of Paradise:

• There you will find yellowing leaves on the lower part of the plant and drooping.
• The topsoil of the overwatered bird of paradise will be white with mold.
• There you will get leaf splitting.
• The smell of the potting mix will be musty or swampy. 
• There will be a present yellow line and brown edges on the leaf tips.
• The potting soil will be a mixture of wet or soggy.
• The foliage will appear wilting, soft, floppy, and yellow.

Conclusion:

Hence I think you can clear information about how often birds of paradise need water and make them bloom perfectly indoors. Make sure to water the plant according to the season change. If you have any doubts about caring for your birds of paradise or their watering technique, feel free to ask me in the comments.

FAQ’s