Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Woolly Rock Jasmine bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Woolly Rock Jasmine, Lanuginose Androsace (Androsace lanuginosa).

More about woolly rock jasmine

About Woolly Rock Jasmine

Androsace lanuginosa · also called Woolly Rock Jasmine, Lanuginose Androsace · flowering

Woolly Rock Jasmine is a trailing, silver-hairy alpine perennial from the Himalayas, forming long, lax stems covered in silky woolly rosettes. From midsummer into autumn it bears umbels of pale lavender-pink to deep rose flowers, making it one of the longer-flowering Androsace species. Ideal for dry walls, rock garden cascading positions, and raised troughs.

Plant type: flowering

The reasons woolly rock jasmine isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming woolly rock jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine to flower

Maximise sun. Give woolly rock jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine and get the feeding right with the woolly rock jasmine 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

Woolly Rock Jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Woolly Rock Jasmine blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my woolly rock jasmine flower?

Woolly Rock Jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine bloom?

Give woolly rock jasmine 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 woolly rock jasmine normally bloom?