Flowers don't bloom

 
КливияClivia is not considered a demanding plant, however, it blooms only in a cramped pot, after a short period of rest.

Not all houseplants bloom at home. Some do not bloom either in the greenhouse, or in the greenhouse, or at home, others can bloom only in greenhouse conditions closest to natural ones, but there is also a large group of plants blooming in indoor conditions. Among them there are demanding and not very, completely unpretentious, which, even when they forget to look after them, not only grow, but also bloom (these are, for example, some types of cacti, pelargonia, etc.).

Let's try to consider the most likely reasons why plants do not bloom, bearing in mind that they should bloom in room conditions.

Little light

First of all, this is a lack of lighting, and not necessarily direct sunlight (not all plants tolerate them), but bright scattered light. Almost all flowering plants need good lighting, few plants bloom on northern windows, and even more so in a semi-dark room. But many plants bloom beautifully under artificial light, especially with daylight lamps.

Even if there is no natural light at all, but lighting with lamps is properly organized, plants will grow and can bloom well. Therefore, if the plant does not bloom, then first you need to think about whether it has enough light. You should also take into account the length of daylight hours, usually at least 10-12 hours.

Wrong soil

For some reason, very little attention is paid to the correct composition of the soil mixture, and rarely anyone checks the acidity (pH) of the soil before using it. Although in fact, it is not uncommon for purchased soil mixtures to have a pH far from what was indicated on the package. Most plants prefer soils with a slightly acidic pH reaction of 5.5-6.5 (these are asparagus, amaryllis, begonia, primrose, calceolaria, pelargonia, tradescantia, etc.). Some plants prefer acidic soils with a pH of 4.5-5.5 (azaleas, hydrangeas, gardenias, callas, camellias, fuchsias, anthuriums, etc.), a few plants that love soil with a neutral reaction pH 6.5-7.5 (roses, chrysanthemums, cineraria). Many of the above listed plants will not bloom if you plant them in soil with inappropriate acidity, or their flowering is sluggish. So if your plants have enough light, sort out the soil - whether it's good enough for these flowers.

Wrong transplant

This is one of the main reasons for the lack of flowering in houseplants. At the same time, there can be many violations: too spacious or too cramped capacity (for example, clivia blooms well when the pot is cramped); damage to the roots, even insignificant or completely invisible, especially in plants that reproduce only by dividing the bush (for example, spatiphyllum), can lead to the fact that even a rather unpretentious plant does not bloom for a long time. Transplantation at the wrong time of the year, for example, in autumn or winter, is fraught with even the death of the plant. Too deep planting bulbous, when a lot of earth is sprinkled on top.

Plant nutrition disorder

адениумAdeniums can grow on the northern windows, but they will bloom only on sunny ones, or with additional illumination.

This item includes situations when the plant is starving, it has not been transplanted or fed for several years (perhaps planted in very infertile soil), or when too much was fed with fertilizers, especially if these feeds are incorrectly selected. For example, they contain a lot of nitrogen. In such cases, they say - the plant "fattens" - forms large juicy green leaves, energetically grows new shoots, all forces are directed to vegetation.

Sometimes plants need to gain strength for the next flowering, to increase the mass of the storing organ. For example, cyclamens after flowering increase tubers, storing nutrients for future flowering. Therefore, when plants fade, cyclamens cannot be immediately cut off and taken to the basement. You need to continue to gradually water the plants, reducing top dressing, and when the leaves turn yellow and die out, cut them off and remove the tubers for storage.

Disturbance or absence of rest period

Not all plants, but many, in order to bloom in winter or spring, need a period of rest, consisting in keeping in rather cool conditions and very limited (sometimes almost dry content). Illumination depends on the plant - some go through a dormant period in a shaded place, others in a fairly light one. Usually, care recommendations say whether the plant needs a mandatory dormant period or not (see Encyclopedia).

Too dry air

It can also be the reason for the lack of flowering in indoor plants. It should be noted that if the temperature in the apartment is high - above 26 ° C, then periodic spraying only temporarily refreshes the plant, and this is not enough. Therefore, if the plant needs very moist air, such as orchids, then the pot with the plant will have to be put on a tray with water (wet pebbles), and possibly also sprayed.

Pest infestation

Oddly enough, but this is not the most common reason for the "non-flowering" of plants, but still, with a very strong defeat, for example, with thrips or whiteflies, the plant not only grows and develops poorly, but also does not tie buds. If the pest has not had time to spread greatly on the plant, then it can bloom, but then it will begin to lose both buds and flowers.

There are other, not so frequent reasons why the plant does not bloom. This may be the wrong pruning - in some plants, flower buds are laid only on young shoots of the current increase, in others - on last year's, old shoots. Or disturbance of watering, for example, strong drying or watering with chlorinated or hard water, can cause concrete falling. Many plants have their own characteristics, for example, orchids bloom in the dry period, when rains stop in nature (air humidity remains quite high), if you start watering or spraying them abundantly at the beginning of the formation of buds, then you can not wait for flowers, and plants will begin a new growth of vegetative mass.

By the way

There are times when plants that bloom extremely rarely or do not bloom at all have blossomed in indoor conditions. And usually this happens as if by accident, the owners often do not even understand what they did so special and the plant so pleased them. For example, aloe, not without reason is called a centenarian (supposedly it blooms once a hundred years), but for some it blooms well.

A common situation: the recommendations for caring for the plant say that it must be transplanted in two to three years, but it turns out that the plant blooms for the first year, and there is no flowering for the next year.

The reason for this is not the cramped pot or lack of nutrition, but the latching of the soil. That is, over the year, salts are gradually deposited in it, the pH rises and the plant refuses to bloom and even begins to get sick .

Therefore, it does not hurt to check the acidity of the soil if the plant is too early to replant, and if it needs to be acidified (for this it is watered with a weak solution of citric acid or the top layer of the earth is replaced with old needles or horse peat).

Feeding flowering plants, it is necessary to choose the right fertilizers. As a rule, these are potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, they contain very little nitrogen. You can recommend, for example, Uniflor-color, Fertica-suite, Rainbow, Omu-flower.

By the way

How to determine the exact cause of all listed? Perhaps the reason is not the same.

You can act as an exclusion method - knowing what conditions your plant needs, think over what exactly in care it might not like so much and restrain flowering.

Not necessarily any violation in care, somehow affect the whole plant. If the lack of light is strong, then the leaves of the plant may grind and the stems stretch, but perhaps there is enough light for normal growth, but not enough for flowering.

The same goes for the lack of nutrients in the soil and air humidity. Therefore, first you need to check the most basic points - light, humidity, temperature, then it does not interfere with checking the acidity of the soil and the filling of the pot with roots, as well as the presence of pests.

By the way

It is one thing when the plant does not bloom at all and another if it blooms poorly or simply loses buds and flowers. In the first case, as a rule, it is only a matter of the above reasons .

In the second, the reasons can be very different with equal success - excessive or insufficient watering, watering with cold water, temperature fluctuations, draft, rearrangement of the plant to a new place, improper transplantation, excess fertilizer, attack by pests or disease, etc.