Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Azalea-flowered snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus 'Madame Butterfly').

More about snapdragon 'madame butterfly'

About Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly'

Antirrhinum majus 'Madame Butterfly' · also called Azalea-flowered snapdragon · flowering

'Madame Butterfly' is a tall snapdragon with double, open azalea-type flowers that lack the snapping hinge, giving full, ruffled spikes in soft pastels and rich shades. A superb cut flower grown as an annual, it wants full sun, cool weather and free-draining soil. Pinch for branching and deadhead to keep the spikes coming.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Top-heavy spikes: Dense double flowers make stems heavy and prone to flopping. Pinch young plants and net or stake tall plantings, especially for cutting.

The reasons snapdragon 'madame butterfly' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming snapdragon 'madame butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' to flower

Maximise sun. Give snapdragon 'madame butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' and get the feeding right with the snapdragon 'madame butterfly' 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

Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my snapdragon 'madame butterfly' flower?

Snapdragon 'Madame Butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' bloom?

Give snapdragon 'madame butterfly' 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 snapdragon 'madame butterfly' normally bloom?