Apparently they have to be a certain age to bloom but that age is up for debate.

After reading that they have to be a certain age to bloom I saw one at Home Depot that already had a bloom on it. I snapped it up. I overwintered indoors and put it back outside this summer, but so far no blooms. In fact it doesn't seem to be growing too quick.

Glen

I am growing a B of P that I started from seed about 10 years ago. It's bloomed for the last 3-4 years. I move it inside during the winter. It started blooming inside this year in May and had 3 flowers. It has 15 leaves. It's outside now, and it's sending up another bloom stalk. Give it plenty of sun (I'm sure you do.), and don't overwater it, since it stores a lot of water in it's fleshy roots. I would buy a moisture meter for the soil and only water it when it's about dry. Good luck!

It is hard to get them to bloom in a pot. Well done artictropical!

I bought a blooming specimen in the pacific northwest and over the next 7 years as a housplant it never bloomed again. I fertilized, I didn't overwater & I gave it as much sun as I could. I moved to Florida and took it with me - kept it in a pot for 2 more years (but kept it outdoors) until I bought a house. Still no blooms. I planted it in the ground last fall. It bloomed this spring (3 flowers) & it has 2 new blooms just pushing out now. From my experience I have concluded:
1. They don't like being pot-bound to bloom, despite what northern nurseries say. Seem to prefer spreading out.
2. They like lots of fertilizer. I was afraid of burning it when it was in the pot & would give it 1/4 cup fertilizer every 1-2 months. Now that it is in the ground I give it 1/2 to 1 cup of granular palm fertilizer a month. My plant has on the order of 40 leaves for size comparison.
3. They like a very well drained mix. In the pot, I couldn't get enough fertilizer into the plant without overwatering. But here the soil is nothing but sand - so I can water in the fertilizer without fear of drowning the plant. The soil drains really fast. For in a pot, I'd recommend having a lot of "sharp" sand in the potting medium.

Good luck!

My bird of paradise is experiencing some growth (outdoors and it's been a great summer) but perhaps it is too root bound. I sort of have mine in an unusual planting situation - I put impatien plants in the same pot. It looks great (the BP leaves surrounded by impatien plant flowers) but it now appears impatiens have difference watering needs than bird of paradise. Oh well, so far so good (except no blooms).

I found bird of paradise was easy enough to overwinter though indoors in a semi bright window and kept fairly dry. No big insect issues.