Northwest Gardening: My Shrub Didn’t Bloom

Northwest Gardening HELP! My shrub didn’t bloom! By Alice Slusher

My mistake or just a dud?

My mom planted a small lilac bush outside the kitchen window at the house where my six siblings and I grew up. By the time I moved out, the bush was also outside my brothers’ second story bedroom window. Every May, the lilac would be covered with pale violet blossom clusters, and our entire home would be filled with the most glorious fragrance. Shortly after my mom passed away, we moved into our new home in south Kalama. I found a lovely little lilac at the nursery that was already blooming, and happily brought it home and planted it. The fragrance brought back so many happy memories of my mother, and I was looking forward to enjoying it every spring. Boy, was I disappointed! The shrub didn’t bloom again for four years, and that time I only got one flower cluster. The next year (the year we moved to a new location), it was blanketed in lush, fragrant blossoms. Sigh… I’m sure I’m not the only to experience the disappointment a favorite shrub not blooming. Well, there are six common reasons why this might happen. First, the bush may be too young or too old to bloom. This was partly the cause of my lilac’s problem; it was simply too young to bloom. Many won’t bloom for 2-3 years after you transplant hem. So why did it have a couple of flowers when I purchased it? It was likely grown in optimal conditions — possibly in a greenhouse—and a combination of the shock of a new environment, transplantation, and its tender age contributed to its non-blooming state until it was fully established and mature enough in its new location. Some shrubs — for example, lilacs, mock oranges, rhododendron, dogwood, spirea, honeysuckle, hydrangea, forsythia, and weigela — may need a little assistance to begin blooming again. “Rejuvenation” pruning may help. Hard pruning cuts the entire bush down to a few inches. This is really tough on the plant, however, and may delay blooming for 2-3 years. Gradually pruning of the bush each year improves the appearance and is much easier on the plant.

Environmental stress is a biggie

A late freeze can destroy all blossoms on spring-blooming shrubs for the entire season, but summer-blooming shrubs should be fine. Water stress — too much or too little — can keep a shrub from blooming. Be sure to water your shrubs during hot, dry weather, especially during the first three years as the roots are establishing. Use a couple inches of mulch in your beds to help prevent evaporation and promote even, consistent soil moisture. Remember, also, that too much water can drown the roots. Other frequent stressors result from root-bound potted plants and accidental root damage from digging. Too much love can cause problems, too. If you over-fertilize, you’ll have lush, beautiful green foliage, but no flowers. And anything with lush, new growth is an aphid-magnet! If fertilizing is recommended for your plants, do it in late winter or early spring as the leaves emerge. A baseline soil test will help you determine what your soil needs to support most plants. If you prune your shrubs at the wrong time, you may be cutting off the baby flower buds. Here’s a rule of thumb: Spring-flowering shrubs should be pruned as soon as flowers fade, the end of June at the latest, because they start forming the flower buds for next spring right after they are done flowering. Any pruning done after this time will result in no flowers the following spring. Shrubs that bloom in summer should not be pruned (except to remove spent flowers) until late winter while they are still dormant, because these shrubs form flowers on the new shoots that form in the spring. If you did rejuvenation pruning, all the energy goes into making leaves — the plants’ solar energy panels — and not flowers, for several years. Of course, unintentional pruning by deer can destroy your chances for blooms that year. Remember, when purchasing “deer resistant” plants, deer will still eat just about anything if they are hungry enough. My panicle hydrangea was pruned three times last summer by a doe and her fawn. Luckily, panicle hydrangeas bloom on new wood, so I still got flowers! The number one reason why shrubs don’t bloom: they aren’t planted in the right place! Do your homework. Do they need full sun? Part shade? Larger space for the mature shrub size? Does the soil drain well? Believe the nursery labels. You will have happy, healthy plants if you put the right plant in the right place! Enjoy in your favorite outdoor space! •••

Kalama resident Alice Slusher volunteers with WSU Extension Service Plant & Insect Clinic. Call 360-577-3014, ext. 1, or send question via cowlitzmastergardener@ gmail.com.

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