How To Split A Giant White Bird Of Paradise Plant

Growing up to 30 feet tall and 10 feet wide, the white bird of paradise (​Strelitzia nicolai​, USDA plant hardiness zones 9 through 11) commands a large, exotic presence in the landscape. It's sure to add tropical flair to any location with its beefy clumps of tall green stalks topped with long, bananalike leaves and striking blue and white blooms shaped like a bird's head. You can propagate new plants by planting seeds, but removing an offshoot from the parent plant produces the quickest round of flowers and growth.

A white bird of paradise plant will grow for a time in a container, but due to its large size, it eventually needs to be planted in the ground for proper growth. If your plant has developed another offshoot, you can remove it from the mother plant in early spring before it begins developing new growth.

1. Sterilize your tools before dividing the white bird of paradise offshoot so you don't transfer a potential disease or pest to the plants. Use a sharp knife or pruners and wipe the blades with alcohol before use.
2. Spread newspaper on the ground to collect any spilled soil and contain the mess. Lift the white bird of paradise from its pot and lay it on the newspaper. Gently brush the excess soil away from the offshoot so you can better see where the rhizome is connected to the mother plant.
3. Using a sharp knife or pruners, cut the offshoot away from the mother plant. Make sure to retrieve the root system to the division and gently pull it away from the mother plant.
4. Place the bird of paradise offshoot into a 3-gallon container that has bottom drainage and is filled with a well-drained potting mix. Plant at the same depth at which the division was originally growing and water well, saturating the soil. Replant the original plant into the original container at the same depth at which it was growing.
5. Situate the containers in a partially shady location for about eight weeks while the roots establish themselves and water when the top inch of soil feels dry. After about eight weeks, move the containers to a sunny location.

You will have the easiest time digging out and dividing smaller white bird of paradise plants from the mother than trying to get out fully developed ones. Late spring and early summer are the best times to divide the rhizome from the mother plant.

1. Use a clean spade shovel to divide the white bird of paradise rhizome from the mother plant. Insert the shovel between the offshoot and the base of the mother plant and push down into the soil about a foot so you retrieve the root system.
2. Continue digging around the offshoot, being sure to dig up as much of the root system as possible. If necessary, use a clean, sharp knife; loppers; or pruners to release the roots from the soil and then remove the white bird of paradise division from the soil.
3. Plant the offshoot in a location receiving the same amount of light in which it was originally growing and plant at the same depth at which it was originally growing.
4. Saturate the soil with water. Keep the area moist until the root system establishes itself in around three months. Thereafter, you can begin fertilizing the white bird of paradise offshoot, and it should begin blooming in several years.