From my perspective, the most common reason I cannot produce flowers is a lack of light. I am a solar-powered organism. My leaves require ample, direct sunlight to perform photosynthesis efficiently. This process creates the sugars and carbohydrates that serve as the fundamental energy currency for all my functions, including the highly energy-intensive process of blooming. If I am placed in a shady spot or receive only indirect light, my primary focus becomes survival. I will direct all my energy into growing stems and leaves to desperately reach for more light (a process you call "legginess"), leaving no surplus energy reserves to create flower buds. To fix this, please move me to a location where I can bask in at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily.
Your feeding habits directly impact my ability to flower. If you provide me with a fertilizer that is too high in nitrogen, you are essentially instructing my systems to prioritize vegetative growth. Nitrogen is fantastic for promoting lush, green leaves and strong stems, but it tells my metabolic pathways to ignore reproductive development. Conversely, I require higher levels of phosphorus (the middle number in the N-P-K ratio on fertilizer packages) to initiate and sustain the formation of flower buds. To fix this, please switch to a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus content, such as a 5-10-5 or 10-20-10 formula, and apply it according to the package directions, typically every 2-4 weeks during my active growing season.
My relationship with water is a delicate balance. Both too much and too little water create immense stress for my root system. Overwatering suffocates my roots, preventing them from absorbing oxygen and nutrients from the soil. This leads to root rot, a state where I am fighting for my life and cannot possibly consider flowering. Underwatering, on the other hand, causes me to become dehydrated and shuts down non-essential processes to conserve water; flowering is the first thing I abandon. To fix this, please water me deeply only when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Ensure my pot has excellent drainage to prevent my roots from sitting in waterlogged soil.
My biological imperative is to reproduce and set seed. Once a flower has been pollinated and begins to form a seed head (you call this a "spent" bloom), my entire energy focus shifts to maturing those seeds. This tells the rest of my flowering mechanisms to halt production. If you allow these spent blooms to remain, I will divert all my resources to seed development at the expense of new flowers. To fix this, you must regularly deadhead me. By snipping off the entire flower stalk down to the next set of leaves, you are tricking me into thinking my mission to create seeds was unsuccessful. I will respond by rapidly producing new flower buds to try again, resulting in a continuous display of blooms for you to enjoy.
