Mexican Bird Of Paradise Tree. How To Trim It To Keep It Full?

Question

I trimmed it way down last year and it came back sparse and spindly.

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Answer 1

These plants don't like to be cut back very much. Doing so will stunt it and cause it to grow back spindly and with little vigor. Pruning should, only, be done in late winter and you should barely cut anything from the plant. They don't tolerate a heavy hand with the shears. Really the only time this is acceptable is when it is so overgrown that it is causing issues. Otherwise cutting to the ground will cause a slowdown.

Here are two articles that will offer some information:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/bop/mexican-red-bird-of-paradise.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/bop/bird-of-paradise-pruning.htm