A Quick Guide to Getting More Blooms From Flowering Plants

An expanse of green lawn—check. Shrubs neatly trimmed —check. A line of sturdy and healthy trees arranged just so—check. But will it still be called a landscape without any flowering plants to soften the foliage? Flowers in landscape design are always a must-have because they add beauty and color to an otherwise all-green, all-brown space. Unfortunately, you can’t always expect your plants to produce all the blooms you want every season, unless you do something about it, that is.

The trusted source of high-quality outdoor living solutions, Backyard Reflections, shares how you can get your flowering plants to produce more blooms.

• Avoid repotting the plants immediately. When bringing a flowering plant home from the nursery, make sure to give it at least a week to settle into its new environment. When it’s time to repot the plant, make sure to include some important ingredients, such as bone meal powder and beneficial fungi, into the potting mix so the young plant can grow healthy. The healthier the plant, the more blooms it can produce.

• Take plant containers into account. You don’t want to use a deeper pot because the plant will focus more on root development. Instead, choose something that’s wider than the standard nursery pot, but still not as deep. By doing so, the plant has a better chance of growing healthy and producing more flowers.

• Use rich soil for the flowerbeds. Add some compost or manure to the soil when planting flower beds. When the soil is rich and loamy, it encourages bacterial activity, which enhances the fertility of the soil. But before applying compost to the plants, make sure to rake the soil once every 15 days. The quality and type of soil you use for your flowering plants are crucial to their growth. To ensure your plants get the perfect blend of nutrients, consult a trusted landscape company like Backyard Reflections. 

• Deadhead often. Plants grow better and produce more blooms if wilted and faded flowers are removed. That’s because these dead flower heads waste energy and sap while attracting insects and disease. Once you see any blooms wilting, pluck them off promptly so the plant can direct its energy into developing more buds and flowers.

• Prune them accordingly. Pruning sounds a bit similar to deadheading, but it actually involves removing diseased, damaged, or dead parts from the plant. It’s one of the most important steps you’ll need to take to encourage more blooms out of your plants, especially in roses. Pruning is either hard or soft – you’ll need to learn the difference between the two to get the right results. Of course, you also have the option to take a hands-free approach and turn to a premier landscape design company like Backyard Reflections for this task.

• Water them just right. If you overwater your plants, they’ll focus on developing foliage instead of flowers, and if you don’t water them as much, they may not produce any blooms at all. When it’s the flowering season, water your plants moderately. There are a few exceptions, of course. If you’re growing them in containers, for instance, you’ll need to water them daily, especially in the summer. And when the soil used for the flowering plants are well-draining, you can give them almost as much water as you want with little consequences.

• Consider the location of your flowering plants. You’ll want to plant them in an area that receives plenty of sunlight. At least six to eight hours of sunlight are a prerequisite for flowering plants. When the sun becomes too harsh, which is common during the summer, you can protect your flowers using a green shade net. Of course, this will depend on the type of plant you’re growing in your landscape. Shade-loving plants, for example, will reduce the number of blooms they produce if they get too much sunlight.

It’s important that you keep your plants away from traffic and pollution. So, if you want them to produce more blooms, avoid growing them near walkways, where frequent movements and activity from people, animals, and even pets may disturb them. You should also make sure to grow flowering plants where there’s good air circulation; don’t place them too close to a wall or other plants.

• Protect them from pests. Check your plants closely and regularly for any infestation, including the underside of their leaves. You’ll need safe and effective pest control to keep your plants healthy and blooming. There are a couple of things you can do, including the use of neem oil or liquid soap in water to eliminate common pests like whiteflies, aphids, and mealybugs. Growing other plants near your flower beds can also keep pests at bay. Fennel, for example, deters snails and slugs. Artemisia generates a strong antiseptic (but not unpleasant) aroma that can repel most insects. Do you plan to use pesticides to protect your flower beds? You might want to consult your local landscape design expert first.

• Keep the roots intact. They’re responsible for absorbing the nutrients your flowering plants need to bloom, after all. If you’re moving the plants or digging the soil around them, make sure that you don’t cut or damage the roots. Otherwise, the damage will hamper plant growth, or even cause the plant to wilt altogether.

Working with Backyard Reflections

Getting the most out of your flowering plants is easier when you work with a premier landscaping expert like Backyard Reflections. We offer full-service landscape design/build, yard maintenance, and outdoor enhancements that help take the look and feel of your outdoor space to new heights. Let our highly skilled horticultural experts help you choose the best flowering plants for your landscape. They’ll work hard to ensure they’ll grow the colorful mass of blooms you’re envisioning for your space. If you’ve always wanted your own garden of Eden in your backyard, we can make that possible.

Schedule a Consultation Today

Look no further than Backyard Reflections for high-quality landscape design and outdoor living services. With our top-tier solutions and skilled team of landscape professionals, we’ll help you bring all your outdoor dreams to life. We proudly serve the areas in and around Annandale and Nisswa, MN. Call us today at (320) 274-6336 or at (218) 454-1065. You may also fill out this contact form to schedule a consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!