Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Houttuynia cordata bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Chameleon Plant, Fish Mint, Rainbow Plant (Houttuynia cordata).

More about houttuynia cordata

About Houttuynia cordata

Houttuynia cordata · also called Chameleon Plant, Fish Mint · flowering

Houttuynia cordata is a vigorous, spreading marginal perennial grown for heart-shaped leaves that smell of orange or coriander when crushed and small white-bracted summer flowers. It thrives in wet soil or shallow water at pond edges. Beautiful but notoriously invasive via running rhizomes, so most growers confine it to a pot or sunken container.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Poor leaf colour in shade: Plants grown in low light lose their warm tints, become leggy and flower sparsely. Move to a sunnier, still-moist spot to restore compact, colourful growth.

The reasons houttuynia cordata isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata to flower

Maximise sun. Give houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata and get the feeding right with the houttuynia cordata 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

Houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Houttuynia cordata blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my houttuynia cordata flower?

Houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata bloom?

Give houttuynia cordata 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 houttuynia cordata normally bloom?