Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Scarlet Hedgehog Cactus, Red Pitaya (Echinocereus coccineus).

More about echinocereus coccineus

About Echinocereus coccineus

Echinocereus coccineus · also called Scarlet Hedgehog Cactus, Red Pitaya · flowering

Echinocereus coccineus, the scarlet hedgehog or red pitaya, is a cold-hardy clumping cactus of the US Southwest and northern Mexico. It is loved for its brilliant orange-scarlet, hummingbird-pollinated spring flowers that persist for days. Forming dense mounds of spiny stems, it needs full sun, very sharp drainage and a cold, dry winter to flower well.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — No blooms: Usually too warm or too wet in winter, or too little sun. Give a cold, completely dry dormancy and maximum light to set the scarlet flowers.

The reasons echinocereus coccineus isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming echinocereus coccineus 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 echinocereus coccineus 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 echinocereus coccineus to flower

Maximise sun. Give echinocereus coccineus 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 echinocereus coccineus and get the feeding right with the echinocereus coccineus 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

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

Echinocereus coccineus blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my echinocereus coccineus flower?

Echinocereus coccineus 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 echinocereus coccineus bloom?

Give echinocereus coccineus 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 echinocereus coccineus normally bloom?