Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Sally-My-Handsome bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Sally-My-Handsome, Giant Pigface, Sour Fig, Large-flowered Carpobrotus (Carpobrotus acinaciformis).

More about sally-my-handsome

About Sally-My-Handsome

Carpobrotus acinaciformis · also called Sally-My-Handsome, Giant Pigface · flowering

A robust, fast-growing mat-forming succulent from South Africa with thick, sickle-shaped blue-green leaves and enormous deep magenta to cerise-pink daisy-like flowers up to 14 cm across — among the largest in the ice-plant family. Excellent for coastal erosion control and dry, sunny banks. Highly drought- and salt-tolerant; classified invasive in the Mediterranean and UK coasts.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons sally-my-handsome isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming sally-my-handsome 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 sally-my-handsome 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 sally-my-handsome to flower

Maximise sun. Give sally-my-handsome 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 sally-my-handsome and get the feeding right with the sally-my-handsome 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

Sally-My-Handsome 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 sally-my-handsome care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Sally-My-Handsome blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my sally-my-handsome flower?

Sally-My-Handsome 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 sally-my-handsome bloom?

Give sally-my-handsome 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 sally-my-handsome normally bloom?