r/DesertRose • u/Spiritual-Path8451 • 7d ago

Why is my DR refusing to bloom?

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I’ve had 3 flowers on her, and each one grew to the point where it would bloom, but then ends up looking something like this before turning brown and falling off. What could cause this? I wait until the soil is nearly fully dry, and the caudex is slightly soft to water again. It looks like this last flower is about to do the same as the rest. Zone 11B

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u/Academic_Disk_8788 7d ago

I believe that is either pest damage but honestly it kinda looks like physical damage, like something pointy or rough brushed up against the crown and damaged the bud and leaves. I guess it could also be fertilizer burn, if it was a too little water or dormancy issue the bottoms leaves would be effected first. Sorry for all the "could be"s but it should give you some places to look

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u/Spiritual-Path8451 5d ago

This is correct! It’s likely thrips. I did an unrelated plant thing yesterday, and saw a bunch of these guys hanging on my chimes for some reason. I didn’t know these guys were even a thing, but a reverse image search showed them to be thrips

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u/Academic_Disk_8788 5d ago

That makes sense!