The season of the year, the right fertillizer during their growing period which here in Calif. is summer. Drying soil in the winter months. Mine are in flower now. They like indirect (bright light) sun, to promote flowering, most like part shade. I'm telling you this from So. Calif.

That may help to induce bloom but certainly not necessary. As I said: full sun, sporadic watering. I never fertilize. Temperatures aren't as warm during the summer here as they are in N. Hollywood so that may help but only to a degree.

This is a matter of curiosity only, the flowers are relatively inconspicuous (I was able to narrow it down to some variety of S. trifasciata) so I am not looking to maximize bloom.

Ryan

Well you asked. So I told you what works for me. I grow 200+ Species and varieties, and I have many in flower at this time. You live close enough would you like to come over and visit them by appointment only though. DNA is a factor as well. Perhaps you don't need the DNA? Dufflebag2002

Ryan, mine flower every year at this time. I love the sweet smell of the flowers at night. Sometimes so strong I can't go into the greenhouse, the only way to kill them is watering during the winter when cold. They make a perfect house plant having no pests. You can leave them for 6 months for a vacation, during the winter, with no care and they would do just fine. You won't get bored, there are many species and varieties to choose from. Norma

I can only speak of growing Sans as a hobby. There is as much self pride and self reward in growing Sans or any other plant alone without having them flower as a bonus.
That being said, growing plants and having them beautifully grow is self contentment. Every thing else will follow and happens in due time.

The curious mind is a part of human nature which is perhaps the most fasinating way of human life.

Ankrara's Hobby Corner

Ryan, you are more than welcome to come and visit my collection you are about 20 minutes away.
In my case it is age of plant, sun, fertilizer, if it is crowded in pot, species, location, warmth. it will never flower on a rosette that has previoiusly flowered. Only on new rosettes.
I started my collection in 1978 by accident. I have had several plants since that time, and a few still have not flowered, San. cylindrica v. patula for one. So I guess after 38 years I still don't know. Norma

Why do you even bother to ask Ryan, what ever works for you is the best. Norma

The flowers smell sweetly at night? Mine is about to flower too. ItÂs the first time it does and I'm really exited! Do all species smell sweetly? I don't know what I have.

thanks,
Julie

From what I have read some species are not known to flower. I have some parva that are flowering now in the shade. I have not started fertilizing them yet & have had them for over a year. I have had some trifasciata that routinely receives fertilizer during their growing season that have never flowered. The maturity of the plant seems to make more of a difference for me.
I do not like to put mine in the sun  they burn too easily, especially in pots. Mine do better in the shade.

The flowers on my plants are not inconspicous, I smell them as soon as I walk into my greenhouse, in fact some are very large brushes of flowers. Some flower at the base of the soil line. There are all kinds, and one species has dark red flowers. Colors mauve, light green, light yellow. white, lavander. So you do have some choices. Norma

Some speies are shy and slow to flower. S. trifaciata is one of the slowest, so now I must add patience.
I bust my buns to give information, and I don't mind looking everything up before I post though I have been growing them since 1986 at least when people respond, just say thank you.
I purchased all my plants nothing was given to me free, nor did I expect after others have paid money for their plants to ask and receive them free, here it is expected and demanded. Thank you, Norma

I also want to add, that I fertilize with a 0-10-10/ 2tbs. per gal. after each watering, during the summer months, here in Zone 20-21 it is twice a week, they are in a green house, each side geting 1/2 day sun. Which is protected from the sun with a 30% shade cloth. Mine will not start to flower in mass until Oct. approx. I do have a S. kirkii v. pulchra in flower at this time. I also think it will depend on the species. My S. conspicua just broke the 5 gal. clay pot. This is for those of you who need the help. Norma

Norma, I sure wished I lived in CA. I would definitely make the trip to get to see that many different Sans. I bet if you've been growing them for that long, you have at least a few very impressive specimens.

Brandon you live in Tenn where my kids live there also.
You would be welcome any time here. Mine are not large plants, I cut them up about every three years, to make room for the new growth, that they will flower on.
I get flowers becuse I force new growth, they get watered well, and fed well, They get half day bright light. They also have a heater in the winter, even though our winters are mild. I talk to them, I have a fan going on them all day. Brandon if you are willing to send me your address I'm willing to send you a conspicua.
It will be small due to postage cost and I may have to cut off the top of the leaves to fit it into a box. Norma

Norma, you have mail (actually sent it lastnight).

Norma, thanks for all your info. My mother's sanseviera has blossomed for the first time. Thanks to your tips I bet we will be able to divide it into several plants and get the new growth to bloom! Rose

Norma,
I haven't been able to send you email thru Gardenweb or by replying to the email you sent me. You said you didn't get my email thru Gardenweb, and I got a "failure notice" when I replied to your email. I am not sure how to contact you privately.

Norma, great information, thank you. Which variety do you find blooms easiest. I was considering buying a large plant and wanted to pick the best one. Thanks, richard

Richard-

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of Sansevieria! This post was last addressed 11 years ago. Unfortunately Norma is no longer active here though there are a bunch of active and knowledgable folks here. Are you looking to grow a Sans mostly for the flowers?? The flowers are interesting and do have great fragrance, but are not particularly beautiful. Any of the common tall trifasciatas as well as others will eventually bloom if grown well.

Thanks woodnative. I grow a number of different plants. Always anything with scent. So yes i'll be growing for the flowers although the variegation on sans are very beautiful. I keep reading sans needs to be rootbound to induce blooming. Also is it better to purchase a large, older plant since this plant takes decades to bloom? Thanks for any advice. -richard

Since large trifasciatas are rather common at major stores, including the "big box stores" that is probably the way to go. Even then you will get flowers only occasionally

I had one, don't remember the variety or the season of the year, [It was some time ago.] that would pop open a blossom or two every afternoon a bit after four o'clock. It was in the north window of my office cubical and it was so regular that persons would gather around to watch - and irritate the boss.

Thanks for the info everyone. I did some searching and found a nice 3 gallon pot of sans. Black coral. Its really beautiful.

I'm not sure what exactly induces flowering in Sansevieria. I'm in zone 8b and have two S. Trifasciata in a shaded corner of my bedroom. It's still (well) rooted in some 'dirt' and not my custom made soil for these type of plants. Apart from that, the room temperature is pretty high and constant and I feed my plants with a complete 936 Ca + Mg nutrient solution. If I compare growing performance of other plants in my house it seems to be that (root zone) heat is the most important ingredient for fast growing Sansevierias. Even more important than light it seems. I didn't expect any of my plants to bloom at all, but this least expected one surely did four weeks ago!

Beautiful! The brightness of the rosette that is blooming compared to the more faded, older leaves surrounding it make it look like an obvious (barring a lighting/camera flash anomaly) new pup that is doing the blooming.

@Tiffany: Your analysis is flawless. It's a new pup that's flowering indeed.

How are things going now?

Richardiraha12, the sans in your pic has been distributed around the country with the erroneous name of Black Coral for a long time. The official, published name is Black Gold, perhaps an odd name for a plant with no yellow whatsoever, but there you have it. It's a very dark form of the species trifasciata and will propagate true from leaf cuttings, which is unusual for trifasciata varieties.

The great sans expert Juan Chahinian says in his book that Black Gold originated in the greenhouse of Dr Clyde Reed of Baltimore MD, probably many decades ago.

Hi Tiffany, I agree with your comments about sans liking being rootbound. It ain't so.

Russ

I am not sure I agree that these plants need to be older inorder to bloom. I have a Sansevieria in a pot not even 1 gallon in size and the plant is maybe a year old and it is blooming. it has not only one but two flower stalks. its beautiful and smells

delightful! :)

That's true with San. trifasciata futura group. Some takes years to mature and bloom.

I just noticed, this morning, my sans has a flower stalk. I did not know that they flowered. The plant is from cuttings from a larger plant. It is kept in a south facing window that gets indirect sun in summer and direct sun in winter. The parent plant is in a west facing window that gets late afternoon sun all year. I live in southeast Massachusetts.

I'm not a big fan of flowers due to that means the end of growing for that stock.

Mine hasn't stoped growing it has new baby shoots on the sides