when do bird of paradises bloom

I've got one and it's almost 4 years old, it's about 5 l/2 feet tall and has a couple babies now, and it's in a 3 to 4 gallon pot and it is looking root bound, how come it's not blooming? do they like full sun? cause I have mine in part shade

kathy_ann, do you mean the white one or the orange one? There have been a bunch of threads on this, but if it's white, I get the impression it won't bloom in our zone...let me see what links I can find...

Here's one link on the white BOP:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/703023/

another:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/714119/

and another on both:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/740724/

Maybe the answer is in there somewhere..lol

it's white, and that's so depressing . No blooms? bummer thanks for the links, i'll check them out

I'm so sorry, don't shoot the messenger. I felt the same way, but I do have a GH and I hold out hope that eventually I'll get to see those funky blooms.

So sorry...I'll be quiet next time..;)

NO no, no worries LOL, I have a greenhouse too, and it's stayed in tropical like conditions for 3 years, I am not going to hold out on blooms though.

np, just pickin'..lol

I wouldn't give up yet.....they are very bashful bloomers. My friend out here has a couple in her yard, and they have been there for years....this year they bloomed for the first time that she or any of her neighbors can remember! It probably has to do with pollinizers, (is that the right word?) being scarce. So hang in there, if you like the foliage just enjoy the plant, and if it blooms eventually that will be a bonus.

thanks, I do plan on hanging on to it, just cause it's too large to do anything else with LOL. Hopefully the blooms will come one day

Bops need a lot of water and alot of fertilizer.....

Well, I don't fertilize it scared it will grow too much It's huge now LOL, guess I need to , to get it to flower. Thanks much