Question
BOP 8/09
I live in Phoenix, Arizona, which as you know is quite hot. I have a White Bird of Paradise which was/is about 10' in average height when I purchased it in April of 2009. It was growing in a small pot under a shade screen at a local nursery. I planted it in a pretty big pot, but only about one size up from the one it came in. Until about June, it stayed beautiful, and I watered it about once a week. It is against an east-facing wall, gets a lot of morning sun, but is in shade all afternoon. It started to get quite hot in June and some of the leaves began to tear, curl, and get brown edges, and I began to water it twice a week. I went to every other day in July as it was blistering hot this year...but now I wonder if that's what caused my problem. I've had two new leaves unfurl, both a very sickly bright yellow color. Is overwatering my problem? When it's 105 or so here, should I water deep but less frequently? Perhaps it's a salt issue?
I have pictures 'before' and 'after' attached. Thank you.
AnswerThe problem that arises when extreme heat is present, is people tend to water more, thinking that the plant is drying out; what they fail to do, is water thoroughly when needed, meaning water until it comes out the drainage holes, then you don't water again until it is dry 3-4 inches down, instead they water a little every day, wetting the surface but not the root ball. I was not there to see you water, but if you are like many others, you probably didn't water enough when you did, and eventually the root ball becomes compacted , and the water runs down the sides of the container, and the roots become compromised. This is one possibility, another could very well be a salt build up from fertilizing, you don't know how long that soil base in the old container was when you purchased it, and it should have been changed out immediately with new soil. I would change it out now, line the bottom of the container with a drainage medium and prune back the dead growth. Nick
