Getting it to bloom

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

Also called hairy goldfish plant, hairy columnea (Columnea hirta).

More about columnea hirta

About Columnea hirta

Columnea hirta · also called hairy goldfish plant, hairy columnea · flowering

Columnea hirta is a creeping, trailing goldfish plant covered in fine reddish hairs over small fleshy green leaves. It produces vivid orange-red tubular flowers resembling leaping goldfish along the stems. An easy epiphytic gesneriad for hanging baskets, it wants bright indirect light, an airy moist-but-drained mix, warmth and humidity, with a cooler winter rest to trigger blooming.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — No flowers: Most often too little light or no winter cool-down. Give bright indirect light and a cool, drier rest (around 13-16°C) in late autumn to set buds.

The reasons columnea hirta isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming columnea hirta 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 hirta 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 hirta to flower

Maximise sun. Give columnea hirta 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 hirta and get the feeding right with the columnea hirta 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 hirta 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 hirta care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Columnea hirta blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my columnea hirta flower?

Columnea hirta 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 hirta bloom?

Give columnea hirta 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 hirta normally bloom?