Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Japanese Fairy Bells bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Japanese Fairy Bells, Sessile Fairy Bells (Disporum sessile).

More about japanese fairy bells

About Japanese Fairy Bells

Disporum sessile · also called Japanese Fairy Bells, Sessile Fairy Bells · flowering

Japanese Fairy Bells is an elegant, rhizomatous woodland perennial native to Japan, China, and Korea. Its lance-shaped, sessile leaves resemble Solomon's Seal, and in early to mid-spring it bears pendulous, tubular white bell-shaped flowers. Once established it spreads at a moderate pace by rhizomes, making a handsome, long-lived shade ground cover. Variegated cultivars are widely grown.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons japanese fairy bells isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming japanese fairy bells 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 japanese fairy bells 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 japanese fairy bells to flower

Maximise sun. Give japanese fairy bells 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 japanese fairy bells and get the feeding right with the japanese fairy bells 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

Japanese Fairy Bells 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 japanese fairy bells care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Japanese Fairy Bells blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my japanese fairy bells flower?

Japanese Fairy Bells 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 japanese fairy bells bloom?

Give japanese fairy bells 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 japanese fairy bells normally bloom?