Getting it to bloom

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

Also called London Pride, None-so-Pretty, St Patrick's Cabbage hybrid (Saxifraga urbium).

More about london pride

About London Pride

Saxifraga urbium · also called London Pride, None-so-Pretty · flowering

London Pride is a tough, semi-evergreen perennial forming dense rosettes of rounded, leathery leaves. In late spring it sends up airy 30 cm stems bearing delicate pink-flushed white star-shaped flowers. Exceptionally shade and pollution tolerant, it thrives in urban gardens, rockeries, and wall crevices, spreading slowly by stolons.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Aphid infestation on flower stems: Colonies of greenfly gather on emerging flower stems in spring. Squash by hand, blast with water, or apply insecticidal soap. Usually temporary and does not threaten plant health.

The reasons london pride isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming london pride 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 london pride 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 london pride to flower

Maximise sun. Give london pride 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 london pride and get the feeding right with the london pride 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

London Pride 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 london pride care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

London Pride blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my london pride flower?

London Pride 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 london pride bloom?

Give london pride 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 london pride normally bloom?