Native Plants

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Wednesday - August 27, 2008

From: Rosenberg, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Inducing flowering on vines
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

My daughter presented me with a lovely Passiflora coccinea a few months ago. It is growing marvelously in full sun at the base of a pine tree. I'm wondering, though, if I were to limit the amount of new growth, would it bloom more? The same applies to a. . . I forgot the scientific name; a Sky Vine? Thank you for your help. Love the site!!!!

ANSWER:

Rampant plant growth and limited flowering are often signs of excessive nitrogen. Try cutting back on feeding or stop feeding altogether for awhile. Sometimes, allowing the vine to dry to wilting between waterings (not to the point of hurting the plant) will also induce more flowering. Finally, sometimes flowering is a matter of timing and the plant will simply flower only when the time is right.