Flowering Eucharis

Steve Marak via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Wed, 15 Jul 2026 15:25:58 PDT
I sent this to Leo privately, since it's from me driving an AI and not 
personal experience (I haven't grown Eucharis). But as others are having 
the same problem - and at Leo's suggestion - I'll toss it out here with 
a big warning.

If the AI can be believed, all of the former Eucharis species (now sunk 
into Urceolina) come from fairly similar habitats - constantly warm, 
relatively high humidity, consistent rainfall most of the year. While 
they can survive colder temperatures and drying out, defoliation is a 
stress response, not something that routinely happens in nature, and not 
usually a trigger for flowering. It believes the correct procedure is:

- let the plant become pot bound
- let it build up a "lush canopy" of foliage
- *raise* the temperature - it suggests 80-85 F - and do not fertilize, 
or switch to a low-nitrogen, higher phosphorus food
- after 4 weeks, reduce the temperature back to 65-70 F (about 15 F).

It thinks you'll have flowers about 12 weeks later. It gave this link in 
support:

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/…

Again - caveat hortulanus, AI generated content. I try to limit the 
sources of information an AI accesses and keep it on track by precise 
phrasing and hard boundaries, but in this case I didn't follow up every 
link it provided, or try to independently verify all of its claims.

Steve

On 7/15/2026 12:56 PM, Dennis Kramb via pbs wrote:
> Mine never bloom either.  I've followed all the expert advice.  I've even
> tried crazy advice like freezing it (cold winter storage).  The plant just
> grows lush and green no matter what.  A local university conservatory gets
> it to bloom in a temperature and humidity controlled greenhouse.  Perhaps
> the low humidity is the culprit for my persistent failure.
>
> On Mon, Jul 13, 2026, 11:22 PM Leo A. Martin via pbs <
> pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:
>
>> Does anybody have any suggestions for flowering Eucharis? I have read the
>> Wiki entry and I'm not convinced the recommendations for drought and
>> temperature stress are accurate, unless I've been applying them at the
>> wrong season.
>>
>> I have a Eucharis sp. I bought for my mother over 30 years ago from
>> Tropiflora. The original tag is gone, but I definitely recall the catalog
>> said they thought it has different leaves from E. amazonica. Of course, it
>> may be something else.
>>
>> She grew it in a window with bright indirect light and watered it all
>> year, most years. Ambient temperature did not vary much, around 72 degrees
>> F. At my suggestion she withheld watering in some Winters and allowed the
>> plant to drop all its leaves. It was fertilized about 5-6 times a year with
>> a 20-20-20 and micronutrients fertilizer at 1 teaspoon per gallon. During
>> this time it grew strongly and multiplied well. It produced one flower
>> once, during a year when it had been watered through the Winter.
>>
>> I have had it two years. I have kept it much farther from a window. I have
>> withheld water in Winter and allowed it to wilt between waterings one
>> Winter, and defoliate the other Winter. When I water in Spring it produces
>> a luxuriant set of leaves. My household temperatures in Winter are much
>> cooler than in Summer, in the 50s at night / 70s in the day. Still no
>> flowers.
>>
>> I wrote to Tropiflora. They replied their database does not show any
>> accessions other than E. amazonica. Their long-time grower has already quit
>> as the company shuts down, but their bromeliad specialist doesn't have any
>> idea what triggers flowering.
>>
>> Leo A. Martin
>> Phoenix Arizona USA
>> Zone 9?
>>
>> Sent with Proton Mail secure email.
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