Young plants are best repotted in early spring using a good quality houseplant potting mixture with no added fertilizer. Repot a young plant into a container one or two sizes larger. The container should have a drain hole and a run-off dish that detaches from the pot to be emptied.

Older plants can benefit from a tighter pot and may bloom more freely and grow less wildly in a somewhat (not excessively) constrained space. In years that the plant is not re-potted, topdress the soil with fresh potting mix to add free-draining texture and nutrients. (Topdressing is just removing the old spent topsoil, about an inch or so, and replacing it with a fresh potting mixture.)

Plants can be divided at the same time as they are re-potted but divided plants may take several years to resume a healthy floral cycle. While the plant is out of its container, cut the rhizome using a sterile knife so that each division has two or three leaves and a section of roots attached. Re-pot in a smaller sized pot in a light soil mixture. Keep the divisions gently moist, out of direct sunlight and consistently warm while the plants recover and reestablish growth. After about 6 weeks you should see new growth on the divisions, and you can begin to care for them as mature plants.

Read more about this houseplant in our Guide to Bird of Paradise.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service