Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Many-Coloured Zygopetalum bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Tree-Fern Zygopetalum (Zygopetalum maxillare).

More about many-coloured zygopetalum

About Many-Coloured Zygopetalum

Zygopetalum maxillare · also called Tree-Fern Zygopetalum · flowering

Zygopetalum maxillare is a distinctive Brazilian epiphyte that in the wild grows almost exclusively on tree-fern trunks, sending out a climbing rhizome between spaced pseudobulbs. It bears waxy green-barred flowers with a broad solid-violet lip and a sweet scent. Its rambling habit and specialised roots make it best mounted or grown in coarse, very open media.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons many-coloured zygopetalum isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming many-coloured zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum to flower

Maximise sun. Give many-coloured zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum and get the feeding right with the many-coloured zygopetalum 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

Many-Coloured Zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Many-Coloured Zygopetalum blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my many-coloured zygopetalum flower?

Many-Coloured Zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum bloom?

Give many-coloured zygopetalum 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 many-coloured zygopetalum normally bloom?