Plant: White Bird of Paradise How long have you had the plant? 1-6 months Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? Initially I heard that BOP should be kept moist and watered maybe every 3 days. In the past 10 days I held back until the top is slightly dry. I want to know […]
Plant: Pothos Snow Queen How long have you had the plant? 1-6 months Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait for the soil to become about halfway dry before watering Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil, letting excess drain away. Fertilizer? I use Worm wee from a local worm farm Soil: […]
Plant: Dieffenbachia seguine How long have you had the plant: 1 to 6 months Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait for the soil to become about halfway dry before watering Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil. Fertilizer? I’ve started recently using Trust basket vermicompost Soil: Launch Plant […]
Plant: Fiddle leaf fig How long have you had the plant? 6 months to 1 year. Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait for the soil to become completely dry before watering Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil. Fertilizer? I’ve never used fertilizer Soil: Launch Plant Helper
Plant: Snake Plant How long have you had the plant? 1 to 2 years. Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I follow the schedule I was told/researched for this plant: once every 3 weeks to 1 month (rarely) Describe HOW you water: I pour a small amount of water onto the soil. […]
Plant: Easter Lily How long have you had the plant? 1 to 6 months Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait until the soil is about halfway dry to water. Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil, allowing excess to drain away. Fertilizer: Miracle Grow Indoor Plant Food Soil: Launch Plant […]
Plant: Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica) How long have you had it? Less than 1 month. Light Situation: [No photo provided] How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait until the soil is slightly dry to water. Describe HOW you water: I pour a small amount of water. Fertilizer: I’ve never used fertilizer. Soil: Launch Plant Helper
Plant: Rabbit’s Foot Fern (Davallia fejeensis) How long have you had the plant? 3 years. Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I follow the schedule I was told/researched for this plant. When dry 1-2″ from top of plant. I water 2x per week until summer-June then 2-3x per week. Describe HOW you water: Fully […]
Plant: Orange Spider Plant (Chlorophytum amaniense ‘Fire Flash’) How long have you had the plant? 1 to 6 months Light Situation: How do you determine WHEN to water? I water when the soil reaches around halfway dry. Describe HOW you water: I pour a small amount of filtered water. Fertilizer: Schultz 10-15-10 during spring/summer. Miracle Grow Pellets […]
Plant: Caladium White Christmas How long have you had the plant? Less than 1 month Light Situation: Online Course: Essentials of Houseplant Enjoyment Launch Plant Helper
Plant: White Bird of Paradise
How long have you had the plant? 1-6 months
I have lots of brown edges in the leaves and curling leaves – it had some brown edges when I purchased it.
Light Situation:
How do you determine WHEN to water? Initially I heard that BOP should be kept moist and watered maybe every 3 days. In the past 10 days I held back until the top is slightly dry. I want to know how to determine when to water.
Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil, letting excess drain away.
Fertilizer? I recently started using 24-8-16 fertilizer
Soil:
Environment:
The current location where you have it is great in terms of light.
Effort:
Your watering strategy sounds good. It’s good to occasionally flush the soil so excess water that drains through can leach away built up minerals. IMPORTANT: although this flushes out built up minerals, it also flushes out nutrients so be sure to keep up with fertilizing (it sounds like you have been). And remember that this only minimizes the brown patches – you can never completely prevent it!
Expectations:
Your Bird of Paradise plant looks completely within normal parameters to me.
The reality is older leaves will eventually get blemishes or yellow and will fall off by no fault of yours. Browning and leaf rips can never be reversed or completely prevented. As long as the overall plant is healthy and growing in the right light (which yours seems like it is), then you can enjoy the overall plant even if a few leaves die off here and there. Don’t let perfectionism ruin your plant journey!
If you want to learn a healthy, balanced approach to houseplant care, check out my online course or my book.
