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Plant identification help


I have recently moved into a new house and have this in my back yard. It looks great but a little out of my wheelhouse on how to care for it.

To me it looks like a giant bird of paradise. it's also about 6-7m tall at the moment.

Any caring tips would be great.

by Norkvember

12 Comments

  1. Senor-Lobster

    Um I think travelling palms. Or maybe bananas

  2. grayestbeard

    I don’t think you really have to do much of anything except cut the dead stuff off every once in a while.

  5. Ahyao17

    It is Bird of paradise, the larger variant I think.

    Cut the dead leaves out if you want to keep it, but it will get a bit messy as it grows larger. I am trying to decide what to do with mine.

  6. Worldly-Device-8414

    Bananas, You can cut back hard, they’ll reshoot. They do spread.

  9. johnnylemon95

    I don’t believe this is banana. I believe I can see old flower heads in the old dead foliage.

    I believe this to be Strelitzia nicolai. Also called Wild Banana, it is a Giant Bird of Paradise.

    Remove dead foliage and old flower heads if you want a nice clean look. Strelitzias can get leaf yellowing, cracked and dry leaves, and crowded plants provide conditions for bugs and molds to grow. Thinning out to encourage better air flow is a good first step. Making sure to remove dead foliage and flower heads is very important.

    Water once a week, if the soil is dry. Make sure to water deeply, and slow your watering schedule down during winter.

    Fertilise with a liquid fertiliser once every month or so or chuck some all purpose slow release fertiliser around once a year. Don’t worry about fertilising right now, it’s going to be dormant until early spring. So once spring hits you could give it a liquid fertilise for a quick boost and the slow release will feed it as it flowers. Take it easy with the fertiliser though, very easy to over fertilise these plants.

  12. Goost88

    Guys guys guys… all these comments 😂

    It’s one of the most common overly planted plants in Australia.

    It’s the Strelitzia Nicolai.

    Some would argue it’s a weed.
    They grow 6-12m in height.

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