Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Stratiotes aloides bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Water Soldier, Water Aloe, Crab's Claw (Stratiotes aloides).

More about stratiotes aloides

About Stratiotes aloides

Stratiotes aloides · also called Water Soldier, Water Aloe · flowering

Water soldier is a striking aquatic resembling a floating pineapple top, with rosettes of stiff, saw-toothed sword-shaped leaves. It rises to the surface to flower with white three-petalled blooms in summer, then sinks again to overwinter. Excellent for oxygenating wildlife ponds, but a regulated invasive in some regions, so confine it and check local rules before planting.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Failure to flower: In soft, acidic or shaded ponds plants stay submerged and rarely bloom; it needs hard, alkaline, sunlit water to surface and flower.

The reasons stratiotes aloides isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides to flower

Maximise sun. Give stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides and get the feeding right with the stratiotes aloides 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

Stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Stratiotes aloides blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my stratiotes aloides flower?

Stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides bloom?

Give stratiotes aloides 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 stratiotes aloides normally bloom?