Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Abiqua Drinking Gourd hosta, cupped blue hosta (Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd').

More about abiqua drinking gourd hosta

About Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' · also called Abiqua Drinking Gourd hosta, cupped blue hosta · flowering

Abiqua Drinking Gourd is a medium hosta famed for its deeply cupped, intensely blue-green leaves that hold water like little bowls, heavily puckered and corrugated. The thick, waxy texture also gives good slug resistance. Forming a compact mound, it carries near-white flowers on short scapes in early to midsummer.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Loss of blue colour: The blue is a waxy coating that rubs off or melts in heat and strong sun. Grow in shade and avoid overhead watering to preserve the bloom.

The reasons abiqua drinking gourd hosta isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming abiqua drinking gourd hosta traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding abiqua drinking gourd hosta a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get abiqua drinking gourd hosta to flower

Maximise sun. Give abiqua drinking gourd hosta the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for abiqua drinking gourd hosta and get the feeding right with the abiqua drinking gourd hosta fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full abiqua drinking gourd hosta care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my abiqua drinking gourd hosta flower?

Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make abiqua drinking gourd hosta bloom?

Give abiqua drinking gourd hosta the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does abiqua drinking gourd hosta normally bloom?