Getting it to bloom

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

Also called foxglove kohleria, digitalis-flowered kohleria (Kohleria digitaliflora).

More about kohleria digitaliflora

About Kohleria digitaliflora

Kohleria digitaliflora · also called foxglove kohleria, digitalis-flowered kohleria · flowering

Kohleria digitaliflora is a soft-stemmed, scaly-rhizomed gesneriad from Colombia grown for its foxglove-shaped, white-to-lavender blooms freckled with purple spotting. It thrives in warm, humid rooms with bright indirect light and evenly moist, peaty soil. Velvety leaves dislike cold water and direct sun. Easy from rhizomes, it rests briefly in winter before reflowering.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Bud blast / few flowers: Dry air, low light, or erratic watering makes buds drop or never form. Raise humidity, give bright indirect light, and feed a bloom fertiliser when budding.

The reasons kohleria digitaliflora isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming kohleria digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora to flower

Maximise sun. Give kohleria digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora and get the feeding right with the kohleria digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Kohleria digitaliflora blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my kohleria digitaliflora flower?

Kohleria digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora bloom?

Give kohleria digitaliflora 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 digitaliflora normally bloom?