Getting it to bloom

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

Also called Small Scabious, Dove Scabious, Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa columbaria).

More about small scabious

About Small Scabious

Scabiosa columbaria · also called Small Scabious, Dove Scabious · flowering

Scabiosa columbaria is a slender, long-blooming perennial wildflower native to chalk and limestone grasslands across Europe and western Asia, producing a continuous succession of dainty lavender-blue pincushion flower heads on wiry branching stems from late spring until the first frosts, making it one of the longest-flowering native perennials. It thrives in full sun and sharply drained, neutral to alkaline soil and is highly attractive to bees, butterflies and hoverflies. The most important care fact is to deadhead consistently to extend flowering and prevent early senescence. Its ASPCA status is uncertain and it is treated as mildly toxic as a precaution.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons small scabious isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming small scabious 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 small scabious 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 small scabious to flower

Maximise sun. Give small scabious 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 small scabious and get the feeding right with the small scabious 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

Small Scabious 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 small scabious care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Small Scabious blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my small scabious flower?

Small Scabious 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 small scabious bloom?

Give small scabious 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 small scabious normally bloom?