She was referring to a geranium cutting I had potted up for her, and to be honest, I don’t know. I suspect it is too small yet, and maybe next year when it has put some more energy into growing, it might do better. But when a plant doesn’t bloom, this could be caused by any number of issues – maybe the age of the plant, perhaps poor pruning or maybe it’s just the right plant in the wrong place.

Persuading a plant to flower is a daunting task! I have a camelia that is all leaves and no blooms despite shifting it from sun to shade, to a mixture of both, so there is no easy answer.

Common reasons why a plant does not bloom

In many cases, the plant is too young to bloom, which is probably the case above, and in fact it can be two or three years for some plants to mature enough to produce flowers. If a plant has been grafted, depending on the age of the rootstock, this can affect its stage for blooming, or it may be that – like some fruit trees - they only flower every other year anyway.

Sometimes it’s due to the environment. Light is a huge issue for some plants, and some, like poinsettia, require long periods of darkness to promote blooming.

Temperature could be an issue too, as low temperatures can quickly damage or kill flower buds, yet other plants need to go through a cold period to induce flowering, as in the case of spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips, for instance. A plant’s bloom cycle can be disrupted too, by extremes in temperature levels, moisture, humidity or wind.

Poor pollination is another factor that can inhibit both flower and fruit production. Often the weather can be a factor here, as windy, cold, or wet weather can limit bee activity, resulting in poor pollination. If you know what you are doing, hand pollinating plants can help, as can encouraging additional pollinators to the area.

Too much nitrogen can result in lush, green growth but can also reduce flowering, and too little phosphorus can also be the cause for plants not flowering. Improper pruning– if not pruned correctly or at the appropriate time, especially with plants that bloom on new wood - can also significantly reduce flowering.

While we cannot govern the weather, we can have a go at fixing things like light, fertilizer and pruning, and to a fair extent, watering. Do your research on what your plant needs and increase or decrease elements that might be causing the lack of flowers. While it can no doubt be disconcerting when a plant is not blooming, a little patience may be in order, especially when Mother Nature is to blame. Otherwise, becoming familiar with the most common causes that inhibit flowering can help alleviate future problems.

Flowerless plants

It’s always possible some will never, ever bloom! Apparently, there are around 11 main types of non-flowering plants, which include - amongst others – mosses, horsetails, ferns, conifers and ginkgo. Normally, after pollination, seeds grow inside flowers, and then passing animals or wind carry the seeds elsewhere, where they grow. Some non-flowering plants also reproduce using seeds, but the seeds are not inside the flowers, and these are called ‘naked seeds’. This means that their seeds are exposed to the environment and not enclosed in a protective casing - conifers are a good example, where the seed is visible inside the cones.

Other non-flowering plants reproduce using spores. These are usually one-celled units of the parent plant. Spores are tiny and can usually only be seen with a microscope. Non-flowering plants release many spores into the air, and the wind will carry the spores to pastures new. There, they can sprout to form new plants.

So, there is no easy answer to encourage a plant to flower. Talk to it nicely and do your homework. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way – if you can encourage them to bloom in the first place!

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan