Passion Flower Refuses to Bloom
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Levente Forrai
Posted on: March 10, 2008

I purchased this vine-like plant-herb at least three-four years ago at your store-greenhouse.

It has not flowered once. The plant gets full sun, I’ve added to the soil a slow-release fertilizer and it does not get over watered.

What am I doing wrong?

Your fertilizer may be the problem. Make sure you do not use a high nitrogen one, because this will just encourage green growth, but no flowers.

A high middle number on the fertilizer you use will signal to the plant that a change is coming from whatever type of growth it was making. A high last number will signal to the plant that it is time to become mature. Maturity means flowering.

So use a high phosphate fertilizer (middle number) for a month, then switch to a high last number -- potash (K) -- fertilizer and keep using it until the plant sets flower buds. Most slow release fertilizers cannot be regulated this way and I therefore cannot recommend them. I have used a slow release fertilizer formulated for hanging baskets and it worked like a charm. It had low N, but high K.

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