Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Bamboo Muhly bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called bamboo muhly, bamboo muhlygrass, shrubby muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa).

More about bamboo muhly

About Bamboo Muhly

Muhlenbergia dumosa · also called bamboo muhly, bamboo muhlygrass · flowering

Bamboo muhly is a subtropical Arizona native grass with bamboo-like, arching canes clothed in fine, feathery foliage, creating an airy, tropical appearance. Small, inconspicuous flowers appear in spring. Highly drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, it is prized in desert and Mediterranean-climate gardens as a graceful screening or accent plant, performing year-round in mild climates.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons bamboo muhly isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming bamboo muhly 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 bamboo muhly 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 bamboo muhly to flower

Maximise sun. Give bamboo muhly 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 bamboo muhly and get the feeding right with the bamboo muhly 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

Bamboo Muhly 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 bamboo muhly care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Bamboo Muhly blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my bamboo muhly flower?

Bamboo Muhly 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 bamboo muhly bloom?

Give bamboo muhly 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 bamboo muhly normally bloom?