Birds of paradise

by Lisa Damoff

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Has anyone had a bird of paradise outside of zones 9b-11? I really want some and I believe I'm in either zone 9a or 8b?

6 answers

Douglas Hunt on Feb 27, 2014
Have you thought about growing one in a container? That's what the University of Florida recommends for north Florida. According to UF Extension, "The plant will tolerate temperatures as low as 24°F for a short time; however, freezing temperatures will damage developing flower buds and flowers."

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Lisa Damoff on Feb 27, 2014
I'll try anything for any type of plants. Do you know of any other plants that I could grow here? I want anything that blooms or would look good with blooming plants. Is there a way to grow coconut trees here? I've seen palm trees and banana trees that have bananas, but no coconut trees. @Douglas Hunt

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- Douglas Hunt on Feb 28, 2014
  @Lisa Damoff Could you narrow down more what you mean by other plants you could grow there? Coconut palms are much less hardy than birds of paradise. They will only grow in extreme southern Florida, so I think it would really be a challenge to grow them where you are, even in a container.
  
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Jeanette S on Feb 28, 2014
I just looked in the "Dutch Gardens" catalog and they list all of South Alabama as zone 10! It shows average lowest temps 30 to 40 degrees. This past winter has been lower than normal for an awful lot of the US!

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- See 2 previous
- Douglas Hunt on Feb 28, 2014
  @Jeanette S That does not exactly instill confidence in Dutch Gardens.
  
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- Jeanette S on Feb 28, 2014
  @Douglas Hunt Well, if you want the info from a person (my sister) who has lived in Mobile for over 40 years, they rarely get freezing weather. This year they had heavy frost...some may have gotten snow flurries, but she didn't. It is like Atlanta getting 6 degrees this year...very unusual. We usually don't get below the low 20s in a very cold year. This is the first time in 44 winters that I have actually seen leaves on my evergreen shrubs suffer damage. I think it was not only because we got extreme cold weather, but we got it for day after day. We seldom have bone biting cold for weeks at a time and one blast after another. I think people all over the country probably lost vegetation this year that has been out for decades! So that 30-40 temp is just about right.
  
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- Douglas Hunt on Feb 28, 2014
  @Jeanette S I'm certainly not going to quibble with your sister, but the latest hardiness zone map from the USDA shows Alabama is in zones 7 and 8. Zone 10 is like Miami. http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-alabama-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php
  
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Demetria R on Feb 28, 2014
I live in North West TN and I have one in my yard. So far it has done well and it does get pretty chilly up in my area. Good luck

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Amy on Feb 28, 2014
I just planted a b-o-p in my butterfly garden (in a container - zone 9 TX- in partial shade) Will let you know how it goes!

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Lisa Damoff on Mar 02, 2014
South alabama is zone 8. That's where I am. Thanks for all the information and advice!!!' I'll be attempting the bird of paradise anyway. I will let you all know how it goes! And I think I'll try a coconut palm just for the heck of it. People tell me bananas don't grow here but I see a lot of them so why not try a coconut tree. ;)

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- Douglas Hunt on Mar 03, 2014
  @Lisa Damoff Go for it, Lisa, but there are varieties of bananas that are much hardier than coconut palms. According to the University of Florida, "Coconut palms will be injured and may be killed by temperatures below 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) and may show chilling injury symptoms of leaflet necrosis at temperatures as high as 40 degrees F (5 degrees C). Prolonged exposure to non-freezing temperatures in the low to mid 30s F can result in permanent trunk damage and even death of the palm."
  
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