Help- I've got tons of foliage but no blooms!

I have a 20' section of dog-eared fence 6' high with 16 MG's (assorted colrs & types) that have covered the entire fence w/ beautiful foliage but I'm only getting a few purples & reds blooming. Anybody out there got any organic ideas of what I need to add to slow foliage & start the flowers? Or am I being impatient w/ them as I know some colors bloom later than others. LMKP if you have any ideas.

No organic ideas. But I use Bloom Booster (by MiracleGro) and Fish Emulsion mixed together and then water my vines thoroughly at the roots every 3 weeks during the growing season. Works great for me. I get tons of blooms on my vines!

thanks beckygardener - usually stick to organics - got tons of fish emulsion around here & will grab a small container of bloom booster & see if that'll coax them into blooming. Just hate seeing 20' of foliage & no blooms!

Bloom Booster is one product that I swear by! It works great for me!!! And I know others here on the forum will agree. :-) Good luck! Be sure to post photos when it starts blooming! I'd love to see them all! :-)

doused them down yesterday & I finally saw something besides purple this morn - my blues are starting to open. Will post pic when they start blooming good - it is gorgeous - 5 different colors & tons of blooms. Thanks for the help & Happy 4th of July & Happy Gardening to y'all

Boy, if fish emulsion and Bloom Booster can do that much in two days, I'm on my way out to the garden to fertilize!

I don't know if that did it or just gave them the boost they needed. Don't care - they are starting to bloom!

Lol, absolutely!

Mine are doing the same thing,growing great,but no blooms on most,saw my 1st blooms on one small one in a pot.Also,what is making holes in the leaves? I have found ants in my pots,but I have heard that they don't bother the plants,just burrow in the soil.Any ideas? Becki

Pyewacketcat54 - I have the same problem at the bottom of my plants too & not sure what is eating them. I'm an organic gardener so I haven't tried anything on them yet. If I find out what it is I'll drop you a line.

Could they be aphids? I discovered loads of aphids on mine. I was shocked! I've never had aphids on MGs before.

Over the years, I've read that MG vines do best in soil that is less than ideal. When we moved into our first home in 1970, the property had been prepared with 18" or so of very good topsoil. I planted my first ever MG seeds and waited. They took right off and the resultant plants were lush and beautiful with huge leaves, but not one single flower on them. Eventually, the vines became too heavy for the lightweight arbor I'd constructed for them, and down it came.

I don't know about the new hybrids that are so popular today, though, perhaps they require a richer soil mixture. I've had good luck with Bloom Booster formulas (I prefer Peter's), but have never tried any on MG plants, but since it's higher in phosporous, it should give you lots of blooms. I'd be careful of over-fertilizing, however, as my experience is that you'll get luscious greenery and scant flowers.

I just started some "heavenly Blue" MG seeds alongside a new arbor, and the soil at that site is rather sandy. The seedlings popped up almost overnight, and the rains over the past several days are encouraging to everything in the garden. I'm hoping for my first good display of MG in decades. I'll post a photo, if they do well at the arbor site.

Rose

This message was edited Jul 6, 2008 11:47 AM

Rose - I swear by Bloom Booster. I get tons of blooms once I start fertilizing my MGs! Can't wait to see photos of your vines and blooms! I am envious of your rich garden soil. Mine is mostly sand that I am constantly amending.

Sandy loam here & they love it! Not to crazy about the heat - they always wilt during the day here but pop right up the evening & morn or after a good watering. I use very little fertilizer ( had to go buy the bloom booster ) mostly use a product we have here called Garrett Juice - works on anything even tomato blight & foliage problems ( but not on those darn MGs) to boosting soil up - check it out at www.dirtdoctor.com - Howard Garrett is the God of Texas organic growing here & his site has great info & recipes for anything from tomato blight to sick tree cures. Oh & Roisemaire don't feel bad - mine got so full a couple of years ago they pulled down an 8' section of my dog-eared fence during a rain storm - had to replace 3 panels & gate & now I collect seed & plant them at least 12" apart & the things have stems on them as big around as your thumb! And Revclaus you are probably right - I didn't even think of aphids - if you got them there we probably got them here too & knowing Texas by the truckload ( hey everything is always bigger in Texas y'all..LOL). Thanks for all the help & Happy Gardening y'all from N Texas

I'll check,but I haven't seen any,and I have some ladybugs,LOTS of dragonflies and lizards,geckos,garden snakes etc.
The only thing I've seen is ants,and snails,oh,a couple of caterpillars that weren't on plants at the time.
I do try not to use anything that is harmful,if I do,I spray a little on the plant,carefully avoiding the ground,the earthworms here are huge and plentful. I have neem oil spray,I'll see if that helps,just spray and watch to see if the chewing stops. thanks,Becki

Pyewacketcat54 - I'll try it being careful as I have great earthworms here also. I know what you mean about the ladybugs - I usually have tons of them but not this year instead I got tons of copperheads. Thank you dear neighbor for putting in underground sprinkler & leaving cap off all winter - darn landscaper won't hardly mow that side of the house because of them & lost 1 cat to them already! Well thanks for the help DGers & have a great day gardening, Carol

Cat,
Copperheads! EWWWWWW,I have a few little garden variety snakes,no poisonous yet.... good luck on those.I had a 4 ft rat snake when I moved in,it moved to a friends land the next day.At the time,my little Sophie was still alive,she weighed 4 lbs,and was blind,so I wasn't taking any chances,never left her out by herself,but ya never know.