Getting it to bloom

Why won't my King Billy Pine bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called King Billy pine, king William pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides).

More about king billy pine

About King Billy Pine

Athrotaxis selaginoides · also called King Billy pine, king William pine · flowering

King Billy pine is a slow-growing, long-lived evergreen conifer endemic to Tasmania's cool, wet mountain forests. It forms a narrow conical crown of dense, awl-shaped, spreading needles on reddish, fibrous bark. Demanding cool, moist, acidic, free-draining soil, constant humidity, and shelter, it is best suited to cool-temperate gardens and resents heat and drought.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons king billy pine isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming king billy pine 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 king billy pine 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 king billy pine to flower

Maximise sun. Give king billy pine 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 king billy pine and get the feeding right with the king billy pine 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

King Billy Pine 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 king billy pine care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

King Billy Pine blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my king billy pine flower?

King Billy Pine 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 king billy pine bloom?

Give king billy pine 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 king billy pine normally bloom?