Getting it to bloom

Why won't my beautiful feather grass bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called beautiful feather grass, golden feather grass, large feather grass (Stipa pulcherrima).

More about beautiful feather grass

About beautiful feather grass

Stipa pulcherrima · also called beautiful feather grass, golden feather grass · flowering

Beautiful feather grass is a stately European perennial grass producing dense arching clumps of very narrow foliage and dramatic, silky flower spikes with exceptionally long twisted awns in early summer. The fluffy panicles age from silvery-green to warm golden-buff. Hardy through most of the UK (H4) and suited to sunny, well-drained borders and prairie-style plantings.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons beautiful feather grass isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass to flower

Maximise sun. Give beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass and get the feeding right with the beautiful feather grass 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

beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

beautiful feather grass blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my beautiful feather grass flower?

beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass bloom?

Give beautiful feather grass 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 beautiful feather grass normally bloom?