Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Spanish Gorse bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Spanish gorse, Spanish broom, Spanish furze (Genista hispanica).

More about spanish gorse

About Spanish Gorse

Genista hispanica · also called Spanish gorse, Spanish broom · flowering

Genista hispanica is a dense, spiny, deciduous shrub from south-western Europe, valued for its massed display of bright yellow flowers in late spring and early summer and its toughness on dry, infertile banks and slopes. The spiny stems provide good wildlife cover and discourage browsing. Like all brooms, it will not recover from pruning into old wood, so timing and restraint are essential. As with other Genista species, the plant contains quinolizidine alkaloids associated with the legume family, making it mildly toxic to pets if significant quantities of foliage or seed pods are consumed.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Die-back after hard pruning: Genista hispanica cannot produce new growth from bare, old wood. Prune only lightly into green growth immediately after flowering; never cut hard back in autumn or winter.

The reasons spanish gorse isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming spanish gorse 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 spanish gorse 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 spanish gorse to flower

Maximise sun. Give spanish gorse 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 spanish gorse and get the feeding right with the spanish gorse 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

Spanish Gorse 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 spanish gorse care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Spanish Gorse blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my spanish gorse flower?

Spanish Gorse 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 spanish gorse bloom?

Give spanish gorse 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 spanish gorse normally bloom?