Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Olympic St. John's Wort bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Olympic St. John's Wort, Mount Olympus St. John's Wort (Hypericum olympicum).

More about olympic st. john's wort

About Olympic St. John's Wort

Hypericum olympicum · also called Olympic St. John's Wort, Mount Olympus St. John's Wort · flowering

A compact, drought-tolerant dwarf subshrub native to rocky limestone slopes on Mount Olympus and throughout the Balkans. Produces a spectacular summer display of large, bright yellow flowers up to 5 cm across from June to August. Exceptional for rock gardens, dry walls, gravel beds, and sunny alpine troughs.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Rust (Melampsora hypericorum): Orange-pustule rust can appear on leaf undersides during warm, moist summers. Improve air circulation, avoid wetting foliage, and remove affected leaves promptly. Severe infections weaken the plant and reduce flowering.

The reasons olympic st. john's wort isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming olympic st. john's wort 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 olympic st. john's wort 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 olympic st. john's wort to flower

Maximise sun. Give olympic st. john's wort 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 olympic st. john's wort and get the feeding right with the olympic st. john's wort 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

Olympic St. John's Wort 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 olympic st. john's wort care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Olympic St. John's Wort blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my olympic st. john's wort flower?

Olympic St. John's Wort 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 olympic st. john's wort bloom?

Give olympic st. john's wort 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 olympic st. john's wort normally bloom?