Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Alpine Liverwort bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Alpine liverwort, Fairy foxglove, Alpine balsam, Liver balsam (Erinus alpinus).

More about alpine liverwort

About Alpine Liverwort

Erinus alpinus · also called Alpine liverwort, Fairy foxglove · flowering

Erinus alpinus is a semi-evergreen, rosette-forming alpine perennial native to mountain regions of southwestern Europe and North Africa, from the Pyrenees to the Atlas Mountains, where it colonises rock faces, old walls, and scree. Despite its common name 'fairy foxglove', it belongs to the family Plantaginaceae, not Scrophulariaceae. It produces abundant small, star-shaped flowers in pink, purple, or white over the rosettes from late spring to early summer and self-seeds freely into crevices. The plant is short-lived, typically three to five years, but perpetuates itself readily from seed. Erinus alpinus is not listed by the ASPCA as toxic to cats or dogs.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons alpine liverwort isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming alpine liverwort 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 alpine liverwort 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 alpine liverwort to flower

Maximise sun. Give alpine liverwort 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 alpine liverwort and get the feeding right with the alpine liverwort 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

Alpine Liverwort 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 alpine liverwort care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Alpine Liverwort blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my alpine liverwort flower?

Alpine Liverwort 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 alpine liverwort bloom?

Give alpine liverwort 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 alpine liverwort normally bloom?