Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Cantabrian Draba bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Cantabrian Draba, Dedean's Draba, Spanish Whitlow Grass (Draba dedeana).

More about cantabrian draba

About Cantabrian Draba

Draba dedeana · also called Cantabrian Draba, Dedean's Draba · flowering

Draba dedeana is a diminutive cushion-forming perennial from limestone rock faces and crevices in the Cantabrian Mountains and Pyrenees of Spain, where it grows at subalpine to alpine elevations. It forms tiny, hard, shiny-green rosettes of toothed leaves and bears disproportionately large, pure white flowers — often the first rockery Draba to bloom in late winter or very early spring. Gritty, well-drained soil and full sun are essential; it is an excellent candidate for a trough or alpine house where winter rainfall can be managed. Toxicity data are absent from the ASPCA database; classified as mildly-toxic as a precaution.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons cantabrian draba isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming cantabrian draba 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 cantabrian draba 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 cantabrian draba to flower

Maximise sun. Give cantabrian draba 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 cantabrian draba and get the feeding right with the cantabrian draba 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

Cantabrian Draba 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 cantabrian draba care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Cantabrian Draba blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my cantabrian draba flower?

Cantabrian Draba 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 cantabrian draba bloom?

Give cantabrian draba 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 cantabrian draba normally bloom?