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The plant arrived in perfect shape, and I planted it at once in a nice sunny spot on a cyclone fence. Eventually it extended to cover about 15 feet of fence with dark green vines, and crept along the ground, too. However, all summer and now into the fall, it has hardly bloomed, just the occasional flower here and there. Thinking it might like another spot better, I rooted cuttings and planted on a tall trellis in the front yard, in late morning to afternoon sun. Same thing. Vine is beautiful, dark green and thriving, but no flowers at all on this one. We have had a very hot and dry summer here in Austin and perhaps that is the problem? I'll leave the vines growing until the first frost and maybe they will finally do something? Right now on 15 feet of vine there are three flowers open. To be fair, I planted more of the same plant from seed and it has taken all summer for them to reach the top of the trellis, but I do see some buds on those. Maybe it's Texas?? As I say the plant was tip top and healthy, it just never bloomed.
Thank you so much for your review of the plant you received from us. I'm sorry to hear that the plant didn't bloom as expected. Aside from excessive watering, the most prevalent reason for Black-eyed Susan Vines not producing flowers is too much nitrogen in the soil. The plants are receiving excellent nutrition levels, and therefore "think" that they should continue to grow larger rather than bloom to reproduce. This encourages vigorous vegetative growth, at the expense of flowers. In cases where blooms are sparse, it is suggested to reduce fertilizer rates to once per month or switch to one that is lower in nitrogen, such as an organic compost or one that is noted as having less nitrogen and more phosphorus, such as 5-10-5 (5% nitrogen; 10% phosphorus, which is important for setting flower buds, and 5% potassium). Please contact us if you would like a credit or a refund. We're here to help!