Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Geum 'Prinses Juliana' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Prinses Juliana avens, Princess Juliana avens (Geum 'Prinses Juliana').

More about geum 'prinses juliana'

About Geum 'Prinses Juliana'

Geum 'Prinses Juliana' · also called Prinses Juliana avens, Princess Juliana avens · flowering

A long-flowering hybrid avens prized for warm orange to apricot semi-double blooms held on wiry stems above mounds of soft green foliage. Flowering from late spring through summer with deadheading, it brings hot colour to cottage and mixed borders. Hardy and easy, it reaches roughly 50 cm and is a magnet for early pollinators.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Floppy stems: Tall flower stems can splay in rich soil or shade; site in sun and provide light support in exposed positions.

The reasons geum 'prinses juliana' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming geum 'prinses juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' to flower

Maximise sun. Give geum 'prinses juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' and get the feeding right with the geum 'prinses juliana' 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

Geum 'Prinses Juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Geum 'Prinses Juliana' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my geum 'prinses juliana' flower?

Geum 'Prinses Juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' bloom?

Give geum 'prinses juliana' 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 geum 'prinses juliana' normally bloom?