Bird-of-Paradise Dead Flowers

Question

After the bird-of-paradise blooms, they die, turning brown and hanging down before new flowers bloom. What happens after this process is over and the flower cannot produce anymore flowers? And when the petals turn brown and hang down, what do you do with them? Do they fall off eventually by themselves or do you have to cut them off?

My son stated to me that in the rainforest where they grow, no one cuts off the dead petals. They just fall off. Is this statement true or not? What happens to the entire bulb head that the petals came out of? Is that totally dead or do I have to wait until the next growing season for the petals to grow again? I cannot find out any of these questions.

Answer 1

You can cut off the spent blooms. Yes, in nature they eventually fall off, but they are not all that pretty while you wait. It will do no harm to the plant to cut off the dead blooms.