Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Blue Arrow Juniper bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Blue Arrow Juniper, Columnar Blue Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow').

More about blue arrow juniper

About Blue Arrow Juniper

Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow' · also called Blue Arrow Juniper, Columnar Blue Juniper · flowering

Blue Arrow Juniper is an exceptionally slender, upright conifer growing 3.5-5 m tall but barely 60 cm wide, clad in rich blue-grey foliage held close to the trunk. Even narrower and tidier than Skyrocket, it makes a sharp vertical exclamation point, narrow screen or container specimen, thriving in full sun and free-draining soil with strong drought tolerance.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons blue arrow juniper isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming blue arrow juniper 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 blue arrow juniper 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 blue arrow juniper to flower

Maximise sun. Give blue arrow juniper 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 blue arrow juniper and get the feeding right with the blue arrow juniper 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

Blue Arrow Juniper 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 blue arrow juniper care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Blue Arrow Juniper blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my blue arrow juniper flower?

Blue Arrow Juniper 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 blue arrow juniper bloom?

Give blue arrow juniper 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 blue arrow juniper normally bloom?