Getting it to bloom

Why won't my False Indigo Bush bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called False indigo bush, Indigo bush, Desert false indigo, River locust (Amorpha fruticosa).

More about false indigo bush

About False Indigo Bush

Amorpha fruticosa · also called False indigo bush, Indigo bush · flowering

Amorpha fruticosa is a large, fast-growing native shrub native to streambanks, floodplains, and thicket edges across most of North America, from southern Canada to Florida and Arizona. Unlike its prairie-adapted relatives, it tolerates moist to wet soils as well as periodic flooding, making it valuable for riparian restoration and rain gardens. In ornamental settings its best feature is the dense spikes of deep purple flowers with bright orange anthers that appear in early summer; it fixes atmospheric nitrogen and is highly attractive to native bees and butterflies. It is not listed as toxic to cats or dogs by the ASPCA.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons false indigo bush isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming false indigo bush 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 false indigo bush 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 false indigo bush to flower

Maximise sun. Give false indigo bush 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 false indigo bush and get the feeding right with the false indigo bush 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

False Indigo Bush 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 false indigo bush care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

False Indigo Bush blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my false indigo bush flower?

False Indigo Bush 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 false indigo bush bloom?

Give false indigo bush 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 false indigo bush normally bloom?