What Should I Do To Increase The Size Of The Flowers?

Question

Hello, I observed that when I buy a flowering plant from the local nursery, the flowers look big, vibrant and so healthy. I also see that there is less space between individual petals of the flower during that stage. However, after bringing the plant home, I wait for a couple of days (to avoid any shock/stress) and then re-pot the plant (from the nursery plastic bag to a container). I then use a blend of garden soil, vermicompost/cow manure and also provide sufficient afternoon sunlight & water. I also give fertilizer every week or two: week 1: Epsom salt week 2: oil cake mix powder (mustard cake/neem cake/Groundnut cake, etc.) week 3: NPK (20:20:20) week 4: Micro-nutrients & Humic Acid week 5: Plant bio-stimulator (Protein hydrolysate, natural auxins, cytokines extract) – Really helps. I found many buds started forming after I used this one. However, even after all of this, I still see that my flowers from the same plant do not grow big and look like they just made it to that stage. I feel very frustrated and feel very low due to this. I also provide adequate water & sun light to the plants. Pests is not an issue in these plants. I am referring to some plants like Gazania, Hibiscus & Gaillardia. I don’t understand where am I going wrong. I am also providing you with a before and after pic of the Gazania plant and the Gaillardia plant. Can you please advise where am I going wrong here? Additionally, will any other product help in improving the quality of the flowers and make them more bigger and healthier? Thanks

Answer 1

Unfortunately, your photos did not come through. It sounds like they are being well over fertilized. This will stunt the blooms, and cause many other issues. The only thing that I would suggest feeding these plants with will be a bloom booster, ONLY a couple of weeks before this Annual flower blooms. Other than this, the drought loving plant will not like any feeding or overwatering.

A side note: Be very careful with cytokinins. Many of them can, and will, cause various cancers very quickly. They are, after all, designed to make cells multiply faster.

This article will help you to care for these plants, properly:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/gazania/gazania-treasure-flowers.htm

The problems with the other two plants may not be as straightforward, but overfeeding to that degree will kill most plants. Before feeding, make sure to test the soil nutrient content, and pH to be sure that there is not already sufficient amounts of feed. These articles will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

These articles will help you with your other two plants:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/blanket-flower/growing-blanket-flowers.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/hibiscus/how-to-care-for-hibiscus-plants.htm