Getting it to bloom

Why won't my String of bananas bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called banana vine, fishhook senecio (Senecio radicans).

About String of bananas

Senecio radicans · also called banana vine, fishhook senecio · houseplant

String of bananas is a trailing southern African succulent with banana-shaped green leaves on long stems. Faster-growing and more forgiving than its cousin string of pearls. Mildly toxic to pets.

Curio radicans (formerly Senecio radicans), a trailing succulent native to southern Africa (Cape provinces through KwaZulu-Natal and into Namibia); the curved, banana-shaped leaves are water-storage organs.

Plant type: houseplant

Watch for — Mealybugs at stem joints: Dab with alcohol-soaked cotton bud.

Sources: plants.ces.ncsu.edu, ohiotropics.com

The reasons string of bananas isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming string of bananas traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

It is kept warm and watered all year, so it never gets the cool, dry "stop" signal that flowering depends on.
Not enough light — these are usually high-light bloomers, and a dim spot gives leaves but never flowers.
It is fed too much, especially with nitrogen, pushing soft growth instead of flowers.
The plant is too young or was recently disturbed — many need a few years and an undisturbed root system to bloom.
Watering resumes too early or too heavily after the rest, breaking the cycle.

Treating string of bananas the same all year. Without the cool, dry winter rest it grows happily but simply never sets buds.

The fix — how to get string of bananas to flower

Give a real cool, dry rest. From late autumn, keep string of bananas cool (around 10 °C / 50 °F) and nearly dry for 6-10 weeks — a bright, cool room or porch is ideal.
Maximise light. Give it the brightest position you can the rest of the year; insufficient light is the most common reason it stays leafy and flowerless.
Restart gently in spring. When growth or a bud appears, slowly resume watering and move it somewhere warmer and bright — do not flood it straight away.
Feed lightly and leave it alone. Use a balanced or low-nitrogen feed only in active growth, and avoid rich feeding that pushes leaves over flowers.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for string of bananas and get the feeding right with the string of bananas 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

Given a proper winter rest, String of bananas flowers in spring or summer once warmth and water return, often briefly but reliably year after year.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

After flowering, return string of bananas to its normal growing routine for the summer, then repeat the cool, dry winter rest each year to keep it blooming.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full string of bananas care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

String of bananas blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my string of bananas flower?

String of bananas needs a cool, dry winter rest to flower: a distinct cool, low-water period that signals the plant to switch from growing to blooming. The most common reason it is not happening: It is kept warm and watered all year, so it never gets the cool, dry "stop" signal that flowering depends on.

How do I make string of bananas bloom?

From late autumn, keep string of bananas cool (around 10 °C / 50 °F) and nearly dry for 6-10 weeks — a bright, cool room or porch is ideal. Give it the brightest position you can the rest of the year; insufficient light is the most common reason it stays leafy and flowerless.

When does string of bananas normally bloom?