Getting it to bloom

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

Also called tree gloxinia, Kohleria, kohleria (Kohleria eriantha).

More about kohleria

About Kohleria

Kohleria eriantha · also called tree gloxinia, Kohleria · flowering

Kohleria eriantha is a tropical rhizomatous gesneriad with velvety, softly hairy leaves and clusters of tubular red-orange flowers freckled with yellow inside. A relative of the African violet, it flowers prolifically in warmth and bright indirect light, then rests by dying back to scaly underground rhizomes. Easy and forgiving once you respect its dormancy, it suits pots and hanging displays alike.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Leggy growth, few flowers: A sign of insufficient light. Move to a brighter spot with bright indirect light and pinch stem tips to encourage bushier, more floriferous growth.

The reasons kohleria isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming kohleria 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 kohleria 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 kohleria to flower

Maximise sun. Give kohleria 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 kohleria and get the feeding right with the kohleria 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

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

Kohleria blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my kohleria flower?

Kohleria 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 kohleria bloom?

Give kohleria 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 kohleria normally bloom?