No, my understanding is that it should bloom regardless of type. And several years is long enough to mature. There are certain kinds of AVs that will not bloom true from a leaf cutting, but they all bloom.

That being said, I have had AVs (1-3 plants at a time) for the last 25 years and they never bloomed. Never, that is, until I suddenly found myself in a house that has the right light. For a year my AVs bloomed their little heads off. Right up until they developed an aphid problem (which I won't go into here).

Of course, I had never invested in lights of any kind.

My guess is that it is a light problem. AVs can be huge, healthy plants and never produce a bloom if they don't get the right kind of light.

There are lots of resources for info on lighting. If you want to use natural lighting you'll have to experiment a bit. AVs want bright, indirect light, but can take a little direct sun if it's not too hot or too long. Mine bloom beautifully in a blocked southern exposure. My Mom's bloom in an unblocked eastern exposure, about a metre back from the window.

For info on artificial lighting, check out the FAQ section of this forum, or try Rachel's, or both.

Best of luck,

Feegle
~You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry
a person with pets.
- Nora Ephron

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's Reflections

There's a trick you can try that might work. Take the pot and rap it sharply against a table. I'm not sure why, but it works when almost nothing else will.

I had a mini rescue that sat there for six months, full size, but not one flower. I thwacked the pot and it started popping blooms. Mind, they were kind of a disappointment, but I'll give it another chance; the leaves are just *so cool*.

Good luck.

Korina, plant abuser

Plant abuse notwithstanding...

I forgot to mention that several growers on this forum have mentioned that sometimes one AV turns out to like a different level of light than it's brothers. So if all your other AVs are blooming their little heads off, and if you abuse the plant Korina-style and it still doesn't bloom, I would try higher or lower light levels than it is getting now.

Feegle
~who has given in to the inevitability of a dog on the bed

I have a different story here in Vietnam.
We live in Saigon (official name Ho Chi Minh City) where the temperature never drops below 28 degree Censius (you will have to guess what F degree it is !) and we have two AVs. I kept them in a shade house and they look healthy and produce suckers of all sorts... but never bloomed for two years.
Then six months ago, I moved them to Dalat where our second home is and where the weather is quite cool with temperature never rises to 25 degree Censius. Guess what... the AVs started blooming like mad!
I guess in my case, it's the temperature.

Feegle, is it at least a dry dog?

Korina, drying off the cat *again* (I think he went swimming last night)

I wouldn't bloom either if the temp never got below 28C/86F!! Why do you think I moved to Canada???

Korina, the dog *is* dry. Except when he's been being really bad all night and I've been squirting him with the water bottle (I think he's really a cat in a dog suit). Then he's wet *and* stinky...his recent encounter with a skunk reemerges when his face is wet.

So. Why does your cat go swimming?

Feegle
~Whats so surprising about bacon?
I dunno, I suppose it comes as something
of a shock to the pig.
-Terry Pratchett

86? Yeek! That's melting weather; (shudder) imagine the *humidity*.

Feegle, you'd have to ask the cat. It's actually pretty funny seeing the *other* long-haired cat sitting oh-so-casually on a lawn chair in the back yard, in the rain.

Korina, loving the Pratchett quote

Hi Wilcinbro1,

Another really old secret, more than 33 years old! Is to boil some eggs in unsalted water, and once the water has cooled use it to water your plant. I speaks to some nutrient deficiency in the mix. But I am vigilent about keeping my plants in the proper mix, and every once in a while I get one that just won't bloom. Egg water works everytime to get it to bud!

Haxuan makes a good point about temperature and humidity too, but I don't think that's your problem since your others are blooming.

I have one, Ness' Cranberry Lace, that I actually add eggshell's to the mix, because it just doesn't bloom any other way for me. White Madonna likes eggshells too.

Russell