Having problems with my Giant Bird of Paradise

Question

Having problems with my Giant Bird of Paradise. It is limpy, yellow and falling over on one side of the plant. Has it gotten too much water? Do we cut back all the dead that is falling over? Want to fix the problem.

Answer 1

You leave out one important piece of information – is your plant outdoors or in a pot? Outdoors they’re incredibly tough. Almost impossible to underwater them, so about the only problem is too much water. Indoors, the most likely problem is also overwatering, although it is possible that a potted plant receiving too little water would also show the same symptoms. If you test the soil (in a pot) with a moisture meter, it should read about 1/2 way between dry and moist, with the meter inserted to the bottom of the pot, before it’s watered again. When watering, there should be a runoff from the drainage holes.
Another couple of things to check are for possible damage of some kind which might cause the plant to fall over, and insects, which most likely would be mealy bugs. Here are a couple of articles that might have a bearing on your plant: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/bop/bird-of-paradise-an-exotic-flower-like-none-other.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/mealybugs-control.htm