The White Bird of Paradise is possibly the most popular plant for people who love a dramatic houseplant with giant glossy leaves, but it will eventually outgrow your home and will likely never bloom. It’s less common, smaller relative, the Orange Bird of Paradise takes some patience to grow, but could be your new favorite houseplant.

The Orange Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae, is an easier houseplant than the common and more popular White Bird of Paradise, but it grows slower and lacks the wow-factor of it’s taller cousin, the White Bird of Paradise Strelitzia nicolai.

I prefer Orange Bird of Paradise because it’s a plant that will reward you if you have patience & can spend its entire life in a container.

Orange Bird of Paradise are native to South Africa, like so many of our favorite houseplants (Snake Plants, Spider Plants, ZZ plants, and String of Pearls). Unlike many traditional houseplants which can handle indirect light, a Bird of Paradise needs bright, direct light from a south or west facing window.

Bird of Paradise should be placed in a container with excellent drainage, and dark, fluffy soil where water flows freely. Although the plant is very forgiving about low humidity and drying out, it prefers a really nice soaking once every week (perhaps every two weeks if you keep your home cool).

A word of caution, don’t plant it in an expensive container, because it will break it! The roots develop into very large tubers and it will let you know when it needs a new container … by cracking the one you have it in. I keep mine in plastic containers with plenty of holes in the bottom so water flows out fast.

I take mine outside into shade and gradually part sunshine during the summertime, but if you have a really sunny window, it can live in a home or apartment its entire life.

My Orange Bird of Paradise blooms every single winter! But it takes 5-10 years for a young plant to get large enough to reach blooming size. These plants need a large root system & it will need to be old enough to hold about 30 leaves. Once you check those boxes, it’s just a matter of time before the first flower stalk appears.

Make sure you do not prune any old leaves until they are completely brown and shriveled up. The flowers emerge from the older leaves. If you cut off a green leaf, you are cutting off a future bloom!

My Orange Bird of Paradise typically shows its flower spades in October and the blooms open up December through March.