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soonergirl1968

Ice plants not blooming

17 years ago

Does anyone grow ice plant (delosperma cooperi)? I grew them at my old house and they bloomed non-stop all summer. My dad's are blooming beautifully as well. I have probably 20 planted in various locations and only ONE is blooming. The plants have grown to probably 5X the size they were when planted but no blooms. I've fertilized a few times and still nothing. They are planted in sandy soil amended with MG garden soil and peat and all get plenty of sun. Any ideas?

Comments (12)

  • 17 years ago

    Mine did the same thing so I deadheaded them and after a few weeks they bloomed again. Also, I notice that mine only bloom when they get lots and lots of sunshine, so they do not open up if it has been rainy/couldy for a few days. Has something grown over or around them so that they now get less sunlight?

  • 17 years ago

    I'm pretty sure they all get sufficient sunshine. Some are planted amongst lantana, salvia, roses, purslane, etc. which are all blooming beautifully. The one I had at my last house only got morning sun and was the best flowering plant I've had. The ones that are not blooming don't even get buds - only LOTS of foliage. I wonder if I have given them too much nitrogen? Maybe I should try a different fertilizer with a higher percentage of phosphorus and see if that will help. I just never had this problem at my old house - of course, I pretty much live in a sand box now so gardening is much different here. I just love the plant. They are so beautiful when they bloom.

  • 17 years ago

    You might want to cosult Dawn for advice on fertilizing, but it might be the case that they are over-fertilized or even over-watered since they thrive in dryer conditions (e.g. rock gardens, xeriscapes). I love ice plants too--they are easy to get started, spread fast and look great. Too bad most of mine got trampled this summer by construction workers. :( Good luck getting yours blooming!
    GM

  • 10 years ago

    I have had the same problem with my ice plants. The foliage is healthy and the plants are three times the size as when I purchased them this spring, but they didn't have one bloom. Mine get full sun from about 11 am to 5 pm. I did not fertilize them so I don't think the issue is with too much fertilization.

  • 9 years ago

    This is my problem too. Mine get afternoon sun 2-8. One plant from last year did not even come back. The foliage on all the others looks great.

  • 9 years ago

    This just made me remember that I started ice plant seeds indoors and moved them outside in the late spring...but I can't remember what happened to them at that point.

  • 9 years ago

    Uh oh. Maybe they'll pop up and show themselves at some point---maybe they are buried under something else.

  • 7 years ago

    When first planted with the others it bloomed great. Has really grown but now stopped blooming. Lots of sun, no fertlizer. Please help

  • 7 years ago

    Have youe had a soil test? Too much nitrogen in the soil (even if you aren't adding a fertilizer) can inhibit blooming. How much sun is 'lots of sun'? They really prefer full sun all day in order to stay really happy. Is it in well-drained soil? They do not perform as well if growing in slow-draining clay. Has it already bloomed this year? If so, be sure to remove the spent blossoms. Sometimes deadheading pushes it into another cycle of blooming. If it is only one ice plant among several ice plants that is not blooming, I wouldn't worry. It will bloom when it is ready. If all your ice plants are not blooming and they'd normally be blooming at this time, you might try feeding them with a bloom booster like Super Bloom to see if it will push them into blooming.

  • 7 years ago

    Thank you for the good tips. It gets all day sun and the other 5 ice plants are blooming.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Where I live ice plants are annuals, but I have planted one in the same place every year & treated them the same way & they always bloom beautifully. This year I bought one that had not bloomed yet & it has not had one bloom!!! I know how much to water them... I used the same potting soil, it gets the same amount of sun, but it just isn't blooming

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