From our perspective, light is our primary source of energy, the very currency we use to create flowers. Flowering is an energetically expensive process. If we are not receiving enough photons from the sun (or a strong grow light), our survival instinct takes over. We will prioritize channeling our limited energy reserves into maintaining basic vegetative growth—stems and leaves—rather than the luxurious expenditure of producing blooms. If we are growing in a spot that receives less than 6 hours of direct, bright sunlight per day, our flowering mechanisms will slow and eventually halt. To fix this, you must move us to a sunnier location where we can bask in full sun for most of the day, allowing our photosynthetic factories to operate at full capacity and fund abundant flowering.
The fertilizers you provide dictate our growth patterns. The three key nutrients—Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K)—each instruct different parts of our physiology. Nitrogen primarily promotes the growth of lush, green foliage. If the soil is too rich in nitrogen, we receive a powerful signal to focus all our efforts on leaf production at the expense of reproduction (flowering). Conversely, Phosphorus is crucial for stimulating root development, flower formation, and seed production. A lack of phosphorus means we simply lack the biochemical building blocks to create blooms. The fix is to reassess your feeding regimen. Cease using high-nitrogen fertilizers and instead provide us with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer or one specifically formulated for blooming plants, which has a higher phosphorus content (a higher middle number, like 10-30-10).
Our root systems are highly sensitive to water conditions, and both extremes cause significant stress that shuts down flowering. Under-watering causes us to wilt and our cellular processes to slow to a crawl. In this state of drought stress, conserving water and energy becomes our sole priority; flowering is abandoned. On the other hand, over-watering is equally detrimental. Soggy, waterlogged soil suffocates our roots, preventing them from absorbing oxygen and leading to root rot. A damaged root system cannot effectively uptake water or the nutrients required for blooming, leading to a decline in overall health and a cessation of flowering. The solution is consistent, even moisture. Water us thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry, ensuring excellent drainage to prevent us from sitting in water.
Our biological purpose is to flower, set seed, and ensure the propagation of our species. Once a flower is pollinated and begins to form a seed pod (a process called "setting seed"), our entire hormonal system shifts. We divert a massive amount of energy away from producing *new* flowers and into nurturing those developing seeds. If spent blooms are left on our stems, they will progress to this seed-setting stage, signaling to the rest of the plant that the reproductive goal has been achieved and no further flowers are necessary. To keep us flowering, you must perform deadheading. By regularly removing the spent, wilted flowers before they can form seeds, you trick us into believing our mission is not yet complete. This prompts us to continuously produce more flowers in an attempt to achieve successful reproduction.
Prolonged periods of extreme heat can force us into a state of dormancy, where we conserve energy and pause flowering to survive the stress. Furthermore, if we have been growing in the same container for too long, our root system can become pot-bound. This means the roots have completely filled the pot, becoming a dense, tangled mass. This condition leads to rapid water loss, nutrient deficiency, and general stress as we struggle to function within a severely limited space. A stressed plant does not flower well. If you notice a dense web of roots at the bottom of the pot, the fix is to gently transplant us into a slightly larger container with fresh potting mix, or if mid-season, to ensure much more frequent watering and feeding.
