Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Sugar and Spice Tiarella bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Sugar and Spice foamflower, deeply-lobed foamflower (Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice').

More about sugar and spice tiarella

About Sugar and Spice Tiarella

Tiarella 'Sugar and Spice' · also called Sugar and Spice foamflower, deeply-lobed foamflower · flowering

Sugar and Spice is a showy clumping foamflower with large, deeply and intricately lobed glossy green leaves marked by a strong dark central pattern. In late spring it bears full, fragrant-looking spires of pink-budded white flowers held well above the foliage. One of the more ornamental Tiarella hybrids, it earns its place for both bold leaves and a generous bloom.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Sparse flowering: Excess shade or over-feeding with nitrogen reduces the bloom. Provide brighter dappled light and feed sparingly to maximise the spires.

The reasons sugar and spice tiarella isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming sugar and spice tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella to flower

Maximise sun. Give sugar and spice tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella and get the feeding right with the sugar and spice tiarella 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

Sugar and Spice Tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Sugar and Spice Tiarella blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my sugar and spice tiarella flower?

Sugar and Spice Tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella bloom?

Give sugar and spice tiarella 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 sugar and spice tiarella normally bloom?