Bird of Paradise Strelitzia reginae

Bird of paradise builds a clump from the base with no trunk at all, a fan of thick paddle leaves on long stalks that stays at shrub height for life. The flower is the reason it is grown: a beaked bract held horizontally, opening to release orange sepals and a blue tongue, carried clear of the foliage and worked over by honeyeaters. It is a feature plant for garden beds, courtyards and large pots, and salt air does not trouble it.

Why the clump matters more than the plant

Reginae grows across coastal Australia from the tropics down to the frost-free temperate south, in part shade through to full sun, on low to moderate water once settled. It flowers most reliably in direct sun, and it needs soil that drains, because the thick fleshy roots rot in a wet heavy profile. Growth is slow. The failure mode is the one everybody meets: years of leaves and no flowers. Age and crowding drive flowering here. A young plant is simply not ready, and a clump that has just been dug and divided will sulk for a season or two before it picks up again. Resist splitting it every time it thickens, resist heavy nitrogen feeding that pushes leaf at the expense of bud, and give it enough sun. In a pot, being slightly root-bound is a help rather than a problem, so pot on sparingly and only when the clump is pushing the sides out. Use a free-draining mix and a heavy container, since a full clump in leaf catches wind.

The crane flower or the giant

The obvious comparison is giant bird of paradise, and the two are used for opposite jobs. Nicolai builds grey trunks and leaves on the scale of a banana, for height and screening; reginae stays low, keeps its foliage in proportion to a courtyard, and is the one that carries the orange crane flower. Choose reginae for a garden bed, a pool surround or a pot you want to keep in scale, and nicolai when you need a tropical wall of foliage. If flowering is not the point and you want similar salt tolerance with less attention, cardboard palm covers that ground. More options sit in flowering plants.

Cutting back and feeding for bud

Cut spent flower stems and tired leaves right back to the base rather than shortening them, since a half-cut stalk stays as a brown stub in the middle of the clump. Do that tidy-up in early spring before new growth pushes. Feed then with a complete fertiliser carrying potassium rather than a lawn food heavy in nitrogen, and repeat after the main flush. Check leaf undersides and stalks for scale, which settles in still sheltered positions and brings sooty mould with it. An old clump that has heaved above soil level can be lifted and reset, but do it in spring and expect a season without flowers.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 10 sizes, from 75mm up to 90L, priced from $16.95 to $1309.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to when to plant in Australia.