Getting it to bloom

Why won't my White Prairie Clover bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called white prairie clover, white tassels (Dalea candida).

More about white prairie clover

About White Prairie Clover

Dalea candida · also called white prairie clover, white tassels · flowering

White prairie clover is a deep-rooted prairie legume of central North America, bearing wiry stems tipped with cone-shaped spikes of small white flowers from early to midsummer. Like its purple cousin it fixes nitrogen, withstands drought, and feeds a wide range of bees and butterflies, lending fine texture and clean colour to sunny meadows and dry, lean borders.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Slow to establish and bloom: Early energy goes into the root system, so flowering may be light the first year. Established clumps then bloom reliably and prove long-lived.

The reasons white prairie clover isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming white prairie clover 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 white prairie clover 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 white prairie clover to flower

Maximise sun. Give white prairie clover 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 white prairie clover and get the feeding right with the white prairie clover 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

White Prairie Clover 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 white prairie clover care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

White Prairie Clover blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my white prairie clover flower?

White Prairie Clover 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 white prairie clover bloom?

Give white prairie clover 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 white prairie clover normally bloom?