hardenbergia not flowering?

[ratherrow]

*Hi there!
I have 2 hardenbergia vines growing out of huge planters on either side of a trellis. I planted them last year when they were beautiful and flowering beautifly My garden doesnt get a whole lot of direct sunlight in the winter (a few hours... 2-4) but gets more than 6 in the summer. The vine is growing like crazy, super healthy- but i got NO flowers this year. out of 2 BIG vines! what am i doing wrong?
Thanks,
Molly

[Newt]

Hi Molly,

I wonder if you are fertilizing.* Most perennial vines will produce leaves and not many flowers if you fertilize.

Newt

[ratherrow]

*Newt,
Thanks so much for your quick reply. I did add fertilizer to the soil when i planted them (smart start) but have been very inconsistant about feralizing the vines since (twice in the last year i added some fertelizer power to the water). Is that enough to prevent a single flower? They were so abundent last year! I was hoping someone would tell me they were reseeding this year or something... but i can't find anything to indicate that that would be the case.
Thanks for your help,
Molly

[Newt]

Molly, you are so very welcome!* I've never grown these, but from everything I'm reading the best time to fertilize is after blooming, if you fertilize at all.* Then they are pruned, as they appear to bloom on new wood (the current year's growth) and that keeps them from getting woody.* Your plants could be exhausted from all those flowers.* I've found that with perennial vines they often take a year to establish their roots so the plant can support all the flowers.

My biggest suspicion would be too much fertilizer, but i could be wrong.* I searched using terms like:
hardenbergia + no flowers
hardenbergia + not flowering

They may surprise you and bloom in late summer or early fall.* I wouldn't fertilize after bloom at that time of the year as they slow down for the winter.* They are native to Australia.* You might find this interesting.
http://asgap.org.au/APOL20/dec00-9.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...type=printable
http://www.delange.org/LilacVine/LilacVine.htm

Newt