Bird of Paradise plant outside - will it ever flower?

What part of the world are you in?

Bird of Paradise is related to the banana, so I hope it rarely gets below 10C where you are. They have big tap roots, so they do best in the ground with a lot of sun and water. It took mine 11 years to flower from seed. I also found it will bloom whenever it feels like it.

they live in London .
I just think its too young and maybe too cold.

In a very hot summer outdoors, it might flower, but frankly, its not terribly likely. I couldn't even get mine to flower in the house... gave up after 7 years.

Mine, S. Nicolai and S. reginae, are both in flower, and have been for some time. When I had problems with the common one, it was moved to full sun and it flowers with no problem. Even though they are said to flower from seed in 7 years, mine took much longer.

But you're not in the UK, Wylie, are you... (envious sigh...)

Thank you for your comments. I guess I'll carry on with what I've been doing and see what happens.

I'm not in the UK, but they flower during the coldest part of the year, starting around January. So with winter protection, they should flower in the UK during the spring or fall.

I suspect its not the temperatures that are the major issue - its the dampness here if the plant is outdoors, many plants don't mind a bit of cold (Pelargoniums for instance) but what they really hate is cold and wet.