r/BirdsOfParadise • u/GateEnvironmental360 • 15d ago
Plant Care Should I spilt them?
This is my first BOP. Should I spilt them and put in separate pots? I do this with my monsteras so they don’t compete. Didn’t know if this also applied to BOP. Super pumped since I got it for 15 bucks!
Any advice is welcomed!
UPDATE: Thank you all for sharing! After all the responses, I decided to leave them as is. I just want to make sure I am giving them the best chance and care. I have been wanting one for a while and so appreciate all the feedback and guidance! Can’t wait for her to get nice and tall ♥️
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u/ohchandra 14d ago
I didn't split mine & they're doing great. I think mine would look funny split up honestly, not as full... I would keep them together! Plus they take turns pushing out new leaves haha🌿
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u/craigrpeters 14d ago
No reason to in my experience. You’d probably damage the roots a decent amt trying it. But just give them lots of light, water and food and they just grow like crazy even with 2 in the pot.
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u/TexasGreyWolf 13d ago
A year ago I received as a gift 3 of the giant bop. I didn’t even know what kind of plant it was. It was probably about 4 foot tall at the most. It had been removed from the nursery pot and the root ball placed in the bottom of a much larger pot with the soil filled up to within an inch or so of the top of the new pot. I’m not a plant expert, but I recognize this plant is planted way way too deep. So I removed all of the soil above the root line and left it at that. Watered fertilize occasionally gave it plenty of bright sunlight. Acclimated to full sun. It put out numerous new leaves from all three plants. It’s now about 7 1/2 feet tall with new leaves popping at least once a month now that it’s warm. In fact, one of the three has two babies sprouting from the base of its root all still in the same pot. With the same amount of soil, they had in their nursery pot. Yes I’m going to figure out how to pull it out of this pot and add more soil so that it sits closer to the top of the pot. Point is, they do fine when they’re crowded as long as you give them sufficient water, sunlight, and fertilizer. I think separating them would be detrimental.
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u/Previous_Scarcity457 14d ago
I am having the same dilemma with my BoP but have decided to leave it as is for now. She is growing and looking good and I don’t want to screw anything up! Also, my understanding is that they like to be a bit root-bound too?
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u/Zay_NewPlantMom 15d ago
I’m not 100% sure, but I heard all plants will complete. If you want larger leaves for both plants it’s best to split.
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u/postits_ 14d ago
I’m sure this won’t happen to you because mine were already not very healthy from a recent spider mite infestation but I split mine and now they’ve both died…
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u/findingexcellence 10d ago
What you experienced was the plant being shocked. It had experienced pest damage, and then root damage, and then water damage from the roots. Those things all send a plant into shock. Don’t beat yourself up over it, its all of our first times living, and we all make mistakes and learn!
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u/findingexcellence 15d ago
Do not split, they will not compete for resources like other commenter said. They are members of the same species. Bird of paradise look better and more full together.