Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Mayflower wood cranesbill (Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower').

More about geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower'

About Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower'

Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' · also called Mayflower wood cranesbill · flowering

'Mayflower' is a selected wood cranesbill prized for its rich violet-blue flowers with small white centres, freely produced in late spring and early summer. An RHS Award of Garden Merit perennial, it forms tidy clumps of lobed foliage, performs in part shade and moist soil, and is among the earliest and most reliable hardy geraniums to bloom.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Faded flower colour: Violet-blue blooms wash out pale in hot, dry sun. Site in part shade with moist soil to keep the colour rich and the display longer.

The reasons geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' to flower

Maximise sun. Give geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' and get the feeding right with the geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' 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

Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' flower?

Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' bloom?

Give geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' 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 geranium sylvaticum 'mayflower' normally bloom?