![]() ![]() An exception is the narrow-leaved bird-of-paradise, which has leaves like pointed spikes on mature plants. The leaves are paddle shaped, similar to banana plant leaves, and attached to a long, upright stalk. The color of the leaves varies from glossy, deep green, to blue-green, to muted gray-green. The leaves on a bird-of-paradise plant are arranged to form a fan-like clump of thick, waxy, and evergreen foliage. Different birds act as pollinators for different bird-of-paradise, but some birds, like sunbirds, have been found to be “nectar robbers,” avoiding the flower’s pollinating parts and just eating the nectar. Feed your plant every two weeks during spring and summer with a water-soluble plant food with a balanced formula such as 20-20-20. When the bird flies to another flower, it lands on the prominent and sticky stigma and deposits pollen, before hopping in for another nectar treat. A bird hops onto the smaller, lower petal, and the bird’s weight exposes the anthers, which brush pollen on the bird’s feet and chest. ![]() The flowers typically bloom from September through May.īirds seek out the nectar, which is found in the “nectary” at the base of the flower where two petals join together. A green, red, or purplish canoe-shaped bract (a modified leaf, also called a spathe) forms on the stalk, and it opens along its top edge to reveal the flower petals, stamens, and prominent stigma that unfold from inside the sheath. Set atop long stalks that can reach five feet in height, the flowers have a complex structure with bright colors and copious nectar to entice their bird pollinators. The most famous and noticeable part of bird-of-paradise is its flowers.
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