Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta, Drinking Gourd Plantain Lily (Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd').

More about hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd'

About Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd'

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' · also called Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta, Drinking Gourd Plantain Lily · flowering

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' is a large, show-stopping cultivar renowned for its enormous, deeply cupped and heavily puckered blue-green leaves that hold rainwater like a vessel. The thick, slug-resistant leaves and robust growth habit make it a top choice for shade gardens. White flowers appear in summer. Toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' to flower

Maximise sun. Give hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' and get the feeding right with the hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' 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

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' flower?

Hosta 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' bloom?

Give hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' 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 hosta 'abiqua drinking gourd' normally bloom?