How to make hippeastrum bloom?
The main decoration of the hippeastrum is a tall arrow with large gramophone flowers. With proper care, the plant blooms every year, and sometimes even twice a season. However, it often happens that the plant refuses to bloom and only forms foliage. What to do, how to help hippeastrum and make it bloom?
The answer to this question depends on the reason that influenced the natural flowering process. There may be several such reasons:
- the size of the pot is incorrect;
- mistakes were made when planting the bulb;
- insufficient lighting;
- abundant watering;
- lack of nutrients;
- the presence of pests;
- the leaves were cut off prematurely after the last flowering;
- the seed capsule has not been removed;
- the absence of a rest period in the hippeastrum.
Errors made when planting a bulb and choosing a pot
Hippeastrum will not bloom if a small onion is immediately planted in a spacious pot. There should be a distance of no more than 2 cm between the walls of the pot and the bulb itself. In this case, the flower will direct all its strength to active growth, and flowering will not occur until the bulb in such a pot grows to the desired size.
The bulb, completely covered with earth when planting, will not bloom either.
To eliminate errors, hippeastrum should be transplanted into a cramped pot, burying the bulb only halfway into the ground.
Improper lighting and watering
Flower buds of a plant are laid only in the presence of good lighting. Therefore, even after the hippeastrum has faded, you should not immediately rearrange the pot in a dark place where it will lack sunlight.
A delay in flowering can be triggered by heavy watering, which causes the bulb to rot. It is necessary to immediately stop watering the hippeastrum and wait until the earthy clod dries up. If the bulb begins to rot, it is transplanted, after having cleaned it from the layers affected by rot.
At the same time, poor and untimely watering will cause the plant to redirect its power to survive, and flowering will not come.
Lack of nutrients and the presence of pests
In order to provide the hippeastrum with the proper conditions for development and flowering, you should regularly feed. With a lack of nutrition, there will simply be no strength left for flowering.
The pests that have settled on the plant (scale insects, spider mites, worms) contribute to the development of various diseases in which flowering does not occur. Inspect regularly hippeastrum for the detection of insects, and if they are detected, treat them with special preparations.
Pruning leaves and removing the boll after flowering
The reason for the absence of the next flowering may be premature pruning of leaves from the just faded hippeastrum. Leaves can only be cut after they have wither themselves. Through them, the nutrients necessary for its restoration enter the bulb.
If you do not plan to collect seeds, the wilted flowers are cut, preventing the seed pod from ripening, as this will prevent the bulb from recovering for the next flowering.
Lack of rest period
In order for the hippeastrum to bloom again, it needs to gain strength. Often the plant, after flowering, continues to violently grow massive leaves instead of dropping them. Then he is artificially given a rest period. Place the pot in a cool place and gradually reduce watering. After the complete cessation of watering, the leaves will fade, and the hippeastrum will retire to recover.