Hi N...how much light is your bird getting? Direct sun?
In order for a bird to bloom, they need at least 7 leaves, (which I'm sure yours has after 29 yrs) and the plant needs to be rootbound. What size pot is yours in?
I read, alternating fertilizers helps flowering. What type of fertilizer do you use?
The books says, feed once a month..one month use an all purpose fertilizer, the next a flowering food, etc..Do this monthly throughout growing seasons..
I'm not sure what month or if there's even a certain months bloom..this can be checked out via a book, or online..Or perhaps someone here who grows birds and had them flower will chime in. I'd say, they're most likely to bloom in summer during longer daylight periods.
Do you have a pic of your bird? I'd love seeing one. Toni

Does it get any direct sun? If not, then this could be why.

Yes it gets full sun most of the year when it is outside from mid april to late September, then i bring it in where it gets light from an east window through the winter. I will try and get a picture. I was always supprised it never got bigger that it is. Thanks for the info.

~N

N, your Bird never grew any larger than it was 29 yrs ago???
Do you know which Bird you have? The one mainly sold for pot/indoor use is Strelitzia Reginae w/orange flowers. There's another w/huge leaves that produce white flowers, but can't recall its botanical name at the moment.
Could it be rootbound? What size is its pot?
Toni

Sounds like your plant is in desperate need of repotting with a fresh new soil mix. Being stuck in the same potting mix for more than 2 years is unhealthy for most plants.

Are you sure you have a BOP plant? In S reginae, the flower buds are generally initiated in the late winter/ early spring. High light, sustained moisture and adequate nutrition are necessary.

S nicolai is the giant white BOP. They need to be quite large to bloom.

Yes I am sure i have a bird of paradise plant. and yes it is an "Strelitzia Reginae w/orange flowers". At least that is what it said when i got it.

It is in a 4gallon pot.

When in the year should i rep pot it. or since it has not been re potted for soooo many years should i just do it. if so how much bigger should the pot be?

I would guess that the light it's getting in the summer is definitely adequate, but the east light it's receiving during those other 6 months simply isn't adequate for blooming, so that lack of light is hindering the blooming process.

Is there any way you can place it in a southern exposure during the other 6 months of the year?

I agree with Nan regarding the east window..if you haven't a south window how about west? Either will suffice.
Any additional artificial light at night will help, too. Birds like humidity, too..never hurts to add humidity during winter months, especially once heating is turned on. Toni

I also thought it needed to have a cooler period with the ample sunshine in the winter to get it to bloom? I had one once, and it looked healthy, but just when the 7th leaf would be produced the older one yellowed and died off, and figuring with our shorter winter days and less sunshine, I'd have to resign myself to enjoying the plant in the non flowering stage, since it appeared I could not give it the conditions it needed to grow well enough to bloom.

Kioni, lol, that's what would happen to mine..as soon as the 7th leaf unfolded, one of the older leaves would yellow and die.
After leaving outside all summer in a sunny spot, this stopped happening..but every fall it goes back to its old ways..
I've also repotted in fresh soil/larger pot..and so far, no yellow leaves, but we'll see what happens in winter..and to be honest, I haven't fertilized..Next spring, I'm going to force myself, no matter what's going on here.
Kioni, I've also read the Bird needs a cooler winter to beget flowers..but this is difficult in most homes..Few people keep therms at 65F and cooler..LOL..Toni

Hi All

I have been following your postings and thought I would add one to the growing list. I have both the orange an the white birds. I got my orange to bloom for the first time this year (Year #3). What I did was keep it root bound (till it pushed the soil out of the pot on top) and then replanted it into a two inch larger pot. This got me a lot of new leaves but no flowers. Next I tried feeding it bone meal (6/6/6) at a rather large doseage (one teaspoon per week with lots of water). Within two months I had a bud (August 2007)then on October 13, 2007 I got the first flower. Fast forward to November 15, 2007 and I'm seeing number seven flower from the same pod. My plants sit all year in a sun room faceing East with the birds only getting a couple hours of morning sun. As for the white bird no blooms yet. I have seen one in bloom and it had close to eight feet of stem with 40 or fifty leaves that had been removed so it was hard to quess it's age. No one at the nursery could tell me either. Mine has 8 to 12 inches of stem and maybe 10 or so removed leaves and its 5+ years old. I guess it has a ways to go yet.

We've had a bird of paradise at our home for the last 10 years atleast.It is out door gets plenty of sun but has suddenly stopped flowering.