| I bought a box of osteospermum which were flowering about 4 weeks ago. As the flowers matured I cut them off. It stopped flowering and continues to grow green leaves. Its 22 June here in Pa. Can I force it to bloom again? |
| The answer to your question can be quite complicated, but in a nutshell, plants respond to light levels and temperature as they prepare to bloom. Yours probably just arrived from the nursery where they were receiving perfect environmental conditions and were at the peak of bloom. The act of transporting them to your local garden center and then to your home probably interrupted that process (because the growing conditions were slightly less than perfect) and your plants were set back a bit. They will spend their energy establishing their roots and will then develop healthy new flower buds so they can treat you to their beautiful blooms. In the meantime, water them regularly, provide as much direct sunshine as possible, and prune off any dead flower buds or stems. Your plant will flower later this summer. Enjoy! |
