- Orange Bird of Paradise plants produce orange and yellow flowers with a blue tongue and leaves similar in appearance to those of the banana plant. The plants reach 5 feet in height and width. Bird of Paradise plants will grow outdoors in extreme southern locations, such as the state of Florida. The plants require a well-drained site and adapt to full sun or partial shade. They tolerate most soils but prefer fertile soils. Flowers develop around the perimeter of the plants, so don’t crowd them.
- Native grasses of Florida, such as purple lovegrass and Florida gama grass, offer drought tolerance and adapt to full sun or partial shade. Their mounded forms and light foliage will not block views of the flowers of low-growing Bird of Paradise plants, and the grasses are useful in landscaping under the taller tree forms. The tree forms of Bird of Paradise plants include the White Bird of Paradise, which can reach 18-feet tall, and the Giant Bird of Paradise, which can attain 30 feet in height.
- The evergreen shrub crepe jasmine develops white pinwheel-shaped flowers, tolerates a range of soils, and grows under conditions of light and moisture similar to those needed by Bird of Paradise plants. Adam’s needle is a small evergreen shrub with a mounded form, blade-shaped foliage, and white flowers on tall stalks. It grows in any soil but prefers shade. Both Adam’s needle and saw palmetto reach approximately 4-feet tall, but saw palmetto adapts to full sun or partial shade.
- Container-grown plants allow you to pair your Bird of Paradise plants with a wider variety of other plants because you can adjust the soil conditions, type of fertilizer, and amount and frequency of watering to match the needs of each individual plant by using separate pots. Proper watering is one of the main problems of raising Bird of Paradise plants, according to the Clemson Cooperative Extension, as the plants can develop root rot if they are over-watered or poorly drained. Plants kept in the same area must require similar light levels, temperature and humidity conditions. Bird of Paradise plants need full sun or a south-facing window, 65 to 70 degrees F daytime and 50 to 55 degrees nighttime temperatures as well as a moderate humidity, according to the extension.
- While extension resources do not list any specific companions for Bird of Paradise, and the Cornell Cooperative Extension notes that evidence for the success of companion planting is anecdotal, the extension suggests a mixed plant community as beneficial to plant health. These companions work with Bird of Paradise plants to provide shelter to one another and to create a more diverse environment, disrupting the pattern of plants in the landscape and making the spread of pests more difficult.
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