Question
Hi Nick!

I have a White Bird of Paradise that has been in a pot for about 4 years outdoors on a window ledge.  The pot is 12" wide by 10" tall and the plant itself at its apex is 40" high.  I noticed by trawling through your posts that it is definitely root-bound because the new leaf growth is stunted and it isn't putting out new little spikes from the center as frequently as it has done.

My question to you is, is it possible to re-pot it in the same pot after taking the plant out and trimming off the roots and changing up the medium?  Or is it necessary to get an entirely new pot.  I am limited in that planting it in the ground like you recommend is not an option , and the ledge it resides upon is only 10" wide, so the best that I can do is to get a deeper pot with the same size base.

And finally, what sort of soil medium would you recommend?

btw, I live in a sunny, not foggy part of San Francisco, California (South of Market Area) and have many tropical plants that do well out of doors.  And my WBOP has little brown spots I think are coral spots on the old pruned growth, but I'm not really concerned about that.

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Jazizi, if you can find a deeper container that would certainly help, but you really are trying to fit a round peg into a square hole here, White Birds are meant to grow upwards of 15 feet and you are attempting to keep it happy in a very small growing space; you will afford it a little more room by refitting it into a deeper container, but it is only going to be a stopgap, as it will quickly fill that area also and then show stunting when it pot bounds again. I wish I could tell you what you would like to hear, but it really is not meant for such a small container. The standard orange variety would be a better choice. Nick