Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Bolero Painted Tongue bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Painted Tongue, Velvet Trumpet Flower, Chilean Salpiglossis (Salpiglossis sinuata).

More about bolero painted tongue

About Bolero Painted Tongue

Salpiglossis sinuata · also called Painted Tongue, Velvet Trumpet Flower · flowering

Painted Tongue is a cool-season annual from Chile bearing velvety, trumpet-shaped flowers in rich purples, reds, and golds with intricate veining. It excels in cool spring and autumn gardens with bright indirect light. Classified as mildly toxic due to its membership in the Solanaceae family; keep away from pets and children.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Short bloom period in heat: Flowering stops when temperatures consistently exceed 25°C; plant successionally for extended colour.

The reasons bolero painted tongue isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming bolero painted tongue 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 bolero painted tongue 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 bolero painted tongue to flower

Maximise sun. Give bolero painted tongue 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 bolero painted tongue and get the feeding right with the bolero painted tongue 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

Bolero Painted Tongue 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 bolero painted tongue care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Bolero Painted Tongue blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my bolero painted tongue flower?

Bolero Painted Tongue 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 bolero painted tongue bloom?

Give bolero painted tongue 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 bolero painted tongue normally bloom?