Getting it to bloom

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

Also called goldfish plant, Columnea, flying goldfish (Columnea gloriosa).

More about columnea

About Columnea

Columnea gloriosa · also called goldfish plant, Columnea · flowering

Columnea gloriosa, the goldfish plant, is a tropical epiphytic gesneriad whose trailing stems are studded with glossy leaves and vivid orange-red tubular flowers shaped like leaping goldfish. A relative of the African violet, it loves warmth, bright indirect light and humidity, making it a showy hanging-basket plant. Even moisture and steady conditions keep its cascading stems flowering through much of the year.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Leaf drop and brown tips: Almost always low humidity or dry air, sometimes draughts or under/overwatering. Raise humidity and keep conditions steady to hold its leaves and buds.

The reasons columnea isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming columnea 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 columnea 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 columnea to flower

Maximise sun. Give columnea 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 columnea and get the feeding right with the columnea 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

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

Columnea blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my columnea flower?

Columnea 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 columnea bloom?

Give columnea 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 columnea normally bloom?