From our perspective, light is our primary energy source. The process of forming flower buds, which occurs months before you see blooms, requires a tremendous amount of photosynthetic energy. If we are planted in deep shade, our leaves cannot manufacture enough sugars from sunlight to support both our vegetative growth and the high energy demand of reproduction. We prioritize survival, so we focus our limited resources on growing leaves and roots, sacrificing the flower buds. We require bright, dappled light or morning sun with afternoon shade to gather the necessary energy for a spectacular spring display.
Your pruning shears can be the direct cause of your disappointment. We set our flower buds for the next year shortly after the current spring bloom concludes. If you prune us in mid-summer, fall, or even late spring, you are very likely cutting off the already-formed buds. We cannot regenerate these buds until the following year. The optimal time to shape us is immediately after our spring flowers fade, giving us the entire growing season to produce new wood and set buds for next year. Pruning at any other time removes our future flowers.
Our flower buds are surprisingly vulnerable. While we are hardy plants, the nascent flower buds we form can be damaged or killed by harsh winter conditions, especially freeze-thaw cycles and drying winds. A sudden cold snap in late fall before we are fully dormant, or a warm spell in late winter followed by a hard freeze, can cause the buds to abort. Physical protection, like a burlap screen against wind or a thick layer of mulch over our roots, helps shield these precious buds from extreme temperature fluctuations and desiccation.
What you feed us, or what you do not feed us, significantly impacts our ability to bloom. We are acid-loving plants that thrive in specific soil conditions. If you fertilize us with a high-nitrogen formula, you are encouraging us to produce an abundance of lush, green leaves at the expense of flowers. Nitrogen promotes vegetative growth, not reproductive growth. We require a fertilizer that is formulated for acid-loving plants, one that is higher in phosphorus (the middle number in the N-P-K ratio) to promote bud development. Furthermore, soil that is not sufficiently acidic (pH too high) can lock up nutrients, making them unavailable to us, even if they are present in the soil.
Our shallow root systems make us particularly sensitive to moisture levels. Drought stress at any time, but especially during the late summer period when we are initiating and developing our flower buds, can cause us to abort the bud-forming process. Conversely, sitting in constantly waterlogged, poorly drained soil suffocates our roots, leading to root rot. In this state of distress, our sole focus becomes survival, not flowering. Consistent moisture, where the soil is damp but not soggy, is ideal for supporting the metabolic processes required for bud formation.
