10 Reasons Why Chenille Plant is Not Blooming and How to Fix Them

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Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida) is a prolific bloomer but it may fail to bloom due to cultural faults in lighting, watering, feeding, temperatures, humidity, pruning, soil among others.

Chenille Plant also called Red Hot Cat Tail blooms best in bright, indirect light, average warmth within the range of 18-28⁰C, above average humidity between 55-70% and moderately moist, well drained soil that is rich in organic matter coupled with fortnightly feeding during the growing season. Read more on how to grow and care for Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida).

When these conditions are not met, the Acalypha hispida may not flower with the pendulous, brilliantly colored, furry flowers. Below are 10 reasons why Chenille Plant is not blooming and how to promote it to bloom.

10 Reasons Chenille Plant is Not Flowering with Remedies

1. Too little light

Chenille Plant thrives in bright, indirect light (dappled light). Enough light is necessary for photosynthesis, the process by which plants make food required for growth and energy.

If the light is too little, the plant cannot make adequate food for growth and development which results in stunted growth and lack of blooms.

How to fix it

Position your Acalypha hispida to infront of a brightly-lit window where it can receive bright, indirect light or instal grow lights if the natural lighting is inadequate. Check out these full spectrum grow lights on Amazon.

Rotate the pot regularly to make sure that the plant absorbs enough light for photosynthesis on all sides for uniform growth as well as prevent legginess. Check out this guide on understanding light for houseplants.

2. Improper feeding

Underfeeding your Chenille Plant implies that the plant is not getting enough nutrients needed for growth, therefore, the plant will not bloom.

If you overfeed the Acalypha hispida, the roots will die due to fertilizer burn. When the roots die, they cannot take up nutrients and water required for photosynthesis, thus the plant will not flower and may begin to die.

How to fix it

Feed your Chenille Plant every 2-3 weeks during the growing season with a phosphorous-rich, water-soluble fertilizer to encourage flowering. Ensure to follow the maufacturer's instructions on the label.

Do not feed the plant during the cold season as growth is minimal and feeding at this time can lead to fertilizer burn and death of the plant. Learn more on how to feed houseplants.

3. Lack of pruning

Pruning is an important practice for Chenille Plant to keep it neat, discourage pests and diseases, control growth and encourage blooming. Left unpruned the blooms will be reduced.

How to fix it

Remove dead leaves and flowers from your Acalypha hispida Plant to keep it neat and minimize pests and diseases. Cutback the stems after flowering with a sharp, clean pair of pruning scissors to about 12 inches above the soil to control growth and encourage a more compact growth. This will also boost blooming in the next season. Learn more on how to prune houseplants.

4. Pest infestations

Chenille Plant is prone to mealybugs, whiteflies and spidermites. These sap-sucking insects will cause the plant to become dehydrated resulting in reduced growth and blooming.

How to fix it

Make sure that your Acalypha hispida is healthy at all times by providing it with the right growing conditions. To reduce pest infestations raise the humidity as these pests are attracted by dry growing conditions.

Keep the plant well pruned by removing spent flowers, dead and yellow foliage to discourage infestations by these pesky pests.

Regularly inspect your plant for these pests and carry out timely control if you spot any. If infested, isolate the plant to minimize spread to other plants and treat it appropriately with appropriate products like insecticidal soap or neem oil. Be careful to follow the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Poor quality soil

Poor quality soil that does not drain freely will easily become compacted or soggy which will lead to reduced growth and flowering in Chenille Plant.

How to fix it

Grow your Chenille Plant in rich, well-drained soils to prevent it from getting soggy while providing the required nutrients. Most all purpose potting mixes are ideal for this plant.

6. Too little humidity

Chenille Plant blooms best in above average humidity between 55-70%. Very low air humidity will result in brown leaves, reduced growth and lack of blooms.

How to fix it

To increase humidity, you can grow your Acalypha hispida in a bathroom and other humid areas in the home, set the pot on a wet pebble tray or use a cool mist humidifier. Check out these techniques on how to raise humidity for houseplants.

7. Extremely pot-bound plant

Chenille Plant flowers best when slightly pot-bound but when it becomes extremely pot-bound it begins to wilt, droop and may die due to reduced growth.

This is because the roots have filled the pot and there is very little soil to hold water when you water your Chenille Plant. If there is too little water in the soil for the plant to take up to the leaves for photosynthesis, the plant cannot make enough food for growth and blooming.

How to fix it

If a lot of roots are growing through the drainage hole, repot your Acalypha hispida into a pot one size larger than the current one or divide it into several sections to propagate new plants.

Repot the Chenille Plant at the beginning of the growing season when it becomes extremely pot-bound. Ensure that the pot has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining. Take a look at these pots on Amazon.

8. Extreme temperatures

Chenille Plant flourishes in average warmth within the range of 18-28⁰C. Extreme temperatures, either too cold or too hot will reduce growth and flowering.

Cold drafts will cause sudden drops in temperature which will lead to reduced growth and by extension reduced blooming. Too hot temperatures will cause the plant to become dehydrated which results in lack of blooms if it is not corrected.

How to fix it

Keep your Acalypha hispida away from cold drafts like windy windows and doors, air conditioning units and other drafty areas to avoid exposing the plant to extremely low temperatures.

Position the plant away from hot surfaces, heating units, hot stoves and other hot places to avoid too high temperatures. Check out this guide on understanding temperature for houseplants.

9. Improper watering

Underwatering implies that there is too little moisture in the soil for your Chenille Plant to take up for photosynthesis to make food for growth and blooming.

Overwatering causes the soil to become soggy which leads to the death of the roots due to lack of oxygen. When the roots die, your Chenille Plant cannot take up water and therefore it cannot make food for growth and flowering.

How to fix it

Acalypha hispida requires that the soil be kept moderately moist at all times during the growing season. Water the plant thoroughly during the growing season until water drains out through the drainage hole(s).

Make sure to water your Chenille Plant when the top 2-3 in. of soil begin to dry out to keep the soil moderately moist during the growing season.

Decrease watering in the cold season as growth is minimal at this time but do not allow the soil to dry out completely for prolonged periods of time. Learn more on how to water houseplants the right way.

10. Accumulation of salts & chemicals in the soil

Accumulation of salts or chemicals in the soil will cause the Acalypha hispida roots to die and as such the plant cannot take up water to the leaves for food making which leads to reduced growth as well as flowering.

These excess salts and chemicals may originate from watering with hard water or from the fertilizers used to feed the plant.

How to fix it

Occasionally, flush out accumulated chemicals (salts) from the soil by running a stream of water through the soil. Allow the stream of water to run for some time and repeat the process several times.

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