Giant bird of paradise.

[NorCalKing]

I was curious if anyone knows the growth rate of Giant bird of paradise to develop a woody like trunk. I've had mine in the ground year for only about a year and the leaves are about 4' high, but so far no trunk-like development?

Edited June 16, 2015 by NorCalKing

[John Case]

3 years would be a good estimate. I have grown them from seed and this seems to be the norm, based on Nor Cal Temps and exposures. They do like water but will grow with moderate amounts. I just took down a 22 footer, still have 1 that is about 25 feet tall, 8 - 9 years old. This was achieved partially by cutting out the pups that form around it and having it focus only on the single specimen stem.

Good luck!

[NorCalKing]

Thanks!

Looking forward to seeing this one mature.

[_Keith]

I love these giants and sure wish I could grow them. Good luck.

[NorCalKing]

Thanks Keith.

Yeah, I think they are stunning as well, when they start to develop the trunk.

[Sandy Loam]

Keith, I think you could grow them in zone 9a Louisiana because there are some of them around here (Gainesville, FL), which should be a similar climate to yours. I have a couple of them and one is definitely starting to grow some woody trunk after three years in the ground. I know of a 15 foot tall one in Gainesville, although if we get a bad winter (a zone 8b dip), the leaves will look pretty battered. They grow right back in the spring anyway, so you can clip the ugly brown leaves off.

....although, on the other hand, I have never seen one growing in Tallahassee, which might be slightly more similar to your climate?? (solid 8b)

Have I not seen them growing in New Orleans? I could swear that I have seen them there. I am not sure how far away you are from NOLA.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Sandy Loam

[Pando]

This thing is a weed over here. My neighbor has a huge clump at the other side of the fence, critters are gnawing on seeds and the seedlings are popping up all over the place.

However, if it's kept trimmed, it's a nice plant, very tropical looking.

Did you know that if you rip off a stem from the base, you can just pot it into a pot, keep it moist for a few months, and you get a new plant.

[NorCalKing]

  On 6/17/2015 at 1:29 AM, Pando said:

This thing is a weed over here. My neighbor has a huge clump at the other side of the fence, critters are gnawing on seeds and the seedlings are popping up all over the place.

However, if it's kept trimmed, it's a nice plant, very tropical looking.

Did you know that if you rip off a stem from the base, you can just pot it into a pot, keep it moist for a few months, and you get a new plant.

Do you mean one of the multiple stems?

[Pando]

  On 6/17/2015 at 4:31 AM, NorCalKing said:

  On 6/17/2015 at 1:29 AM, Pando said:

This thing is a weed over here. My neighbor has a huge clump at the other side of the fence, critters are gnawing on seeds and the seedlings are popping up all over the place.

However, if it's kept trimmed, it's a nice plant, very tropical looking.

Did you know that if you rip off a stem from the base, you can just pot it into a pot, keep it moist for a few months, and you get a new plant.

Do you mean one of the multiple stems?

Yes. I once chopped off a 6-ft high trunking stem with a digging bar as low as possible to the roots, but couldn't get any actual roots to speak of. I figured what do I have to lose; I stuck it into a pot, kept it moist, and it developed new roots.

This works with smaller offshoots as well, you can just pull it out (do not cut) as low as possible and stick it into a pot.

You can also divide a larger specimen by just dividing (chopping with an axe) the rootball as you need and you'll get multiple separate plants.

Back to your original question - how long does it take to form a trunk. The time is indirectly proportional to the amount of water and nutrients you provide. You can keep it pretty dry, but then it kind of exists without growing much. Provide a consistently moist and rich soil with plenty of sun and warmth, and you'll get a trunk in a few years, as soon as the old leaf bases naturally dry up and start falling off.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Pando

[NorCalKing]

Thanks.

Yeah, I noticed as soon as I water it more, more leaves start to pop out. But it will sit there just fine for a long while dry. Crazy!

[Pando]

These things are really tough. The plant will tell you when it really needs water - the large leaves close up and shut like a clamshell. But man, it's almost impossible to kill one from neglect alone.

I had two 7 foot high single trunk plants with about 3 ft of clear trunk sitting in 12g pots for about 5 years straight (both were cut off stems from a mother plant that developed new roots). It got to a point where the soil was completely gone on one of them, just a rootball that I could just lift the whole thing out of the pot at will. It often sat completely dry for weeks (in full SoCal sun), but every once in a while I threw some water on it. which was almost a futile exercise since with the soil gone, the water just went through the roots and drained out of the pot almost immediately. The other one had a bit of soil around the roots, but not much. Both kept growing during this period; the leaves were healthy and green. I planted both of them a few months ago and now they are both flowering.

Then again I'm about 6 miles from the coast, and there is significant humidity here. I don't think it would have survived in full inland desert in a pot like it did here.

[NorCalKing]

  On 6/17/2015 at 5:26 PM, Pando said:

These things are really tough. The plant will tell you when it really needs water - the large leaves close up and shut like a clamshell. But man, it's almost impossible to kill one from neglect alone.

I had two 7 foot high single trunk plants with about 3 ft of clear trunk sitting in 12g pots for about 5 years straight (both were cut off stems from a mother plant that developed new roots). It got to a point where the soil was completely gone on one of them, just a rootball that I could just lift the whole thing out of the pot at will. It often sat completely dry for weeks (in full SoCal sun), but every once in a while I threw some water on it. which was almost a futile exercise since with the soil gone, the water just went through the roots and drained out of the pot almost immediately. The other one had a bit of soil around the roots, but not much. Both kept growing during this period; the leaves were healthy and green. I planted both of them a few months ago and now they are both flowering.

Then again I'm about 6 miles from the coast, and there is significant humidity here. I don't think it would have survived in full inland desert in a pot like it did here.

That's just crazy lol!

Yeah I've been a little stingy on the water since I got it, (trying to get it to grow stronger - hence the topic) and saw the clam shell many times

I agree about inland, right now my backyard weather station is showing 94F and 13% humidity!!...In that kind of heat and dryness your rootball would be toast, I'd think.