Hi all,

I accidentally purchased a Bird of Paradise plant (strelitzia nicolai?) this past spring and planted it outdoors. (I thought it was an elephant ear plant - posted about this several months ago, lol! Thanks to folks who helped me to properly ID it!)

Thanks to the hot summer we just had, it has gotten quite large - almost 5' tall and quite healthy looking. I live in Northern New Jersey and know it will not survive the winter outdoors. That said, I'm wondering what my options are and would really like to see it survive the winter so it could continue to thrive next summer.

Here are my thoughts:

Option 1 - Dig it up and transplant into a pot indoors. This might be tough since it is already so large. I'm willing to do it, but want to ensure that if I bring her inside, how much light and water will she need? Can she make it through the winter in the garage? There is a window, but not sure if that's enough. If not, there are a couple places indoors with better lighting but it's so huge and our house is on the small side.

Option 2 - Build a greenhouse-type structure around it and leave outdoors through the winter, something like the first image below. If I were to do that, would it survive frozen earth, assuming the ground freezes? I could also transplant it into a pot and leave in greenhouse outdoors to avoid cramping/low light indoors - maybe the soil wouldn't freeze as easily as if it were in the earth?

Of course, if there's something I haven't considered yet, would love to hear! Thanks so much in advance for helping me keep this plant alive through the winter! Attaching a couple photos of the plant.

Thanks,
Adrienne

I would dig it up and bring it inside, treat it like a house plant.

Nice plants, one of my favorites. I was going to buy one for my kitchen but I have to many plants as it is. I did buy Bird of Paradise seeds once from ebay but none of them sprouted. I'd bring it indoors and put it next to a window.

The little plastic structure will not do anything to protect from cold temps. I have a little shed building that requires a heat source to protect plants from the few frosty nights referred to as winter where I am and you are where there is actual winter. If it will get below freezing in the garage, that will not be warm enough. If you do try using the garage, use something to raise the pot up off of the ground so the pot is not directly contacting the cold floor. I do this in my house too for plants inside over winter. Cold air falls, so allowing for even 1" of circulation will help keep roots warmer. Our old house does not have concrete floors, but under a layer of carpet, then wood, there is the cold outside air under the house and the floor is COLD.

It will not survive over the winter there in the ground.

You need to dig it up and repot it ,, They have large fleshy roots and you need to be carefull when you dig it up and avoid too much water after re-planting it

You may also consider removing some of the older leaves to compensate for the shock of transplanting it

I no longer have to bring mine indoors here in Sarasota. . . . ......

I would pot it and bring it into the garage and add a light on a timer. Garages in NJ can be cold so unless yours is insulated some old Christmas lights, the ones that are not LED, would warm the area just enough if they were loosely wrapped around the pot and the trunk of the plant.

I'm guessing brining it indoors would also help assure it would bloom the next year? I have one in the ground but it is too cold here. It has been hanging on to life for years. Every year it only gets maybe 3 leaves then it is killed back by winter so I've never been able to enjoy the sheer size and beauty of this plant. I might try planting it closer to my house this year. I keep forgetting about mine!

So, did you bring it in?