Flowers Fail to Bloom

Summer heat and drought can be hard on our plants and impact our gardens beauty and productivity. We can’t change the weather but we can help our plants through these stressful times.

Stressed plants often fail to flower. Extreme heat or cold prevents tomatoes from setting fruit and causes peppers to drop their blossoms. The same goes for many of our ornamental plants. Some flowers like sweet alyssum and lobelia tend to stop flowering during hot weather. Grow more heat tolerant varieties like Snow Princess and the variegated Frosty Knight alyssum as well as Laguna and Techno lobelia.

And when the heat sets in, reduce the stress on your plants. Mulch the soil to keep roots cool and moist during hot weather. Water thoroughly but less frequently to encourage deep roots that are more heat and drought tolerant. And don’t apply high nitrogen quick release fertilizers than can damage stressed plants.

A bit more information: Proper soil preparation and fertilization will improve the overall health and vigor of your plants making them more heat and drought tolerant. Use a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer like Milorganite at the start of the season. If the season turns hot and dry, it will not damage your plants.