Questions

Hi, Isabelle -- there are a number of causes for lack of blooms, some
of which are:

1.  New plants.  It's not unusual for perennials and roses to fail
to bloom much or at all in their first year.  Many gardeners (not
me!) even go so far as to cut off flower buds of new plants the
first year to force the plant's energies more into extending the
root system, making for a stronger plant in coming years.
2.  Too much nitrogen and too little phosphorus can produce foliage
at the expense of blooms.  Most experts recommend a fertilizer of
the 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 variety for blooming or fruiting plants, where
nitrogen is less concentrated than the phosphorus; I use anything
that has a lower N number -- 3-8-5, 7-9-6, etc..  And minerals
such as greensand I find useful to add every few years.
3.  For a few plants, such as daylilies or peonies, planting too
deeply prevents bloom.  I've dug & replanted several of these more
shallowly, which helped the blooming a lot.
4.  Siting in terms of sun or shade is critical -- shade plants in
too much sun or sun plants in too much shade will not bloom as well
as we would like--although, all other conditions being favorable, I
find that many plants tolerate less than ideal light conditions and
bloom more than the books say they should.

I have some new phlox this year producing healthy foliage but no bloom,
but I expect they'll bloom well next year.  And no mildew on these,
which is great!  Some roses did beautifully this year but last year
(when they were young) did not flower much.

Hope this helps some.

Anne - Chicago

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