How to get more blooms from houseplants?

January 18, 2011 6:47 PM

How to get potted calla lilies and potted lavender to bloom?

I recently brought home from Trader Joe's a beautiful, blooming pot of lavender and set it next to a pot of calla lilies which I had bought a few weeks ago. The calla lily pot is still healthy and green, but has ceased blooming. I try to give the plants the benefits of a southern exposure in winter. Do I need a special kind of plant food to promote blooming? Thanks, hive plant experts!

posted by ragtimepiano to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

The calla lilies are forced bulbs, they're only going to bloom once before they need to go dormant and regenerate. The lavender might bloom in the spring, but I'd be surprised if it gets anywhere near the sun it needs indoors- it's a full sun outdoor plant. No matter how good the window exposure, it's not the same as being outside.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:00 PM on January 18, 2011

Oh, and no, plant food won't help. Bloom is dependent on things like temperature, day length, and light availability. You can prematurely age plants to make them bloom with ethylene, but nutrition won't help if the other factors aren't there.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:01 PM on January 18, 2011

I've sometimes found that you can shock plants into thinking they're ready to bloom by putting them someplace very cold (40F) for a few hours. YMMV but it's worked in the past for me.
posted by msbutah at 7:06 PM on January 18, 2011

Best answer: These outdoor plants are forced to bloom for indoor enjoyment. It's less stressful for you if you can treat them as if they were the equivalent of cut flowers, just a bit longer lasting.

Lavender is not a house plant. It likes sunny, airy, mediterranean conditions. This plant has been forced so even if you planted it out just now it would die, unless you're in Zone 9 or 10 and maybe even then. Also, it probably is a hybrid specially bred for forcing. Callas grow from tubers and can be good house plants but, after flowering, you have to gradually reduce the water and let them go dormant before starting their cycle again. Google zantedeschia.
posted by Anitanola at 7:49 PM on January 18, 2011