Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Lilium 'Black Beauty' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Black Beauty lily, dark red Oriental hybrid lily (Lilium 'Black Beauty').

More about lilium 'black beauty'

About Lilium 'Black Beauty'

Lilium 'Black Beauty' · also called Black Beauty lily, dark red Oriental hybrid lily · flowering

'Black Beauty' is a vigorous Orienpet (Oriental x Trumpet) lily with masses of deep crimson-black, white-edged recurved flowers and a light fragrance in mid to late summer. Exceptionally robust and long-lived, it tolerates a wide soil pH, reaches well over head height in good conditions, and bears dozens of blooms. Like all lilies, it is acutely toxic to cats.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Botrytis (lily disease): Brown-spotted foliage and bud rot in humid, crowded plantings. Space well, water at the base and remove infected leaves.

The reasons lilium 'black beauty' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming lilium 'black beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' to flower

Maximise sun. Give lilium 'black beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' and get the feeding right with the lilium 'black beauty' 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

Lilium 'Black Beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Lilium 'Black Beauty' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my lilium 'black beauty' flower?

Lilium 'Black Beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' bloom?

Give lilium 'black beauty' 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 lilium 'black beauty' normally bloom?