Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Mignonette, Garden mignonette, Sweet mignonette (Reseda odorata).

More about mignonette

About Mignonette

Reseda odorata · also called Mignonette, Garden mignonette · flowering

Mignonette is a cool-season annual beloved since the 18th century for its intensely sweet, honey-like fragrance rather than its modest, small yellowish-green flowers. Native to North Africa, it thrives in cool summers and poor to moderately fertile, well-drained, slightly alkaline soil. Best direct-sown; does not transplant well. Excellent for cutting gardens.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Premature bolting in heat: Temperatures above 27°C trigger rapid bolting, short flowering windows, and loss of fragrance. Sow in early spring for cool-season flowering, or time autumn sowings in mild climates (zones 8–10) for winter and spring blooms.

The reasons mignonette isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming mignonette 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 mignonette 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 mignonette to flower

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

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

Mignonette blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my mignonette flower?

Mignonette 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 mignonette bloom?

Give mignonette 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 mignonette normally bloom?