Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Can you use high-potassium liquid feed on flowering herbs to get them to flower?

elliotp981elliotp981 Posts: 105
in Problem solving
Can I use Tomorite on my herbs that can flower such as my Rosemary or my mint? I wish for them to flower because of their attractiveness to pollinators such as bees. 
«1345

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    You can, but rosemary flowers only once in the spring - mint also flowers once in early summer. You could cut back the mint after flowering and it may flower again.
    But both plants naturally only flower once per year - so frankly there's not much point.

    Grow a variety of single-flowered annuals and you'll get flowers all summer long - without the need to feed

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Do they not bloom anyway? My rosemary was covered in blooms right through spring. Now it’s producing lots of new growth. 

    My mint blooms most of the summer. It’s got lots of blooms now. What sort of mint do you have that it’s not blooming?  Can you post some photos?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • elliotp981elliotp981 Posts: 105
    It is just a regular UK spearmint. I got it from a supermarket about a month ago and has been out there in the sun since then. Does it need time to adjust?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yes … and have you been cutting some to use too … that might have removed some of the flowering stems. 

    If you can get hold of some apple mint (similar flavour to spearmint but rounded leaves, slightly furry … and the best mint for mint sauce) … mine flowers really prolifically. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Mint is better with some shade. 
    It just needs time to grow - all plants do, especially one you've just bought, and also if it's a small plant. Perennials take two or three years to reach maturity.  Feeding it won't help that.
    When it's filling the pot it's in, move it into a bigger one with fresh soil/compost. Rosemary is the same, but it needs sharp drainage, so a gritty mix is better for it, and winter protection if you aren't in a milder area. Wet cold is hopeless for them. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Agree with @Fairygirl I tend to keep my mint out of full sun - I use it quite a lot so if it does flower, it's often late in the season. Adequate watering and making new plants from cuttings ensures I have it more or less all year round.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2023
    I also agree re the position of the mint … in the wild it’s a plant of damp waterside fields and ditches … mine are in a bed that only gets sun in the morning, and gets the run off from a waterbut when it’s overfilled. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Supermarket herbs are sometimes lots of very young plants/seedlings crammed into a pot, intended for cutting not for growing on. If it's like that, the individual plants might be too young to flower.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • SalixGoldSalixGold Posts: 450
    If you keep your herbs in a pot long term then they will need feeding each year. But if you have just bought them, they should be ok for now. Make sure the plants can drain well and have lots of water through the summer.
  • elliotp981elliotp981 Posts: 105
    Update: the mint appears to be flowering, no signs on my chive or my thyme. 
Sign In or Register to comment.