Hello.

A little background info - I have a goldfish plant in my office that I almost killed after misunderstanding the care requirements - it needs more water than I was giving it and it was dropping leaves like crazy. Once the plant thinned significantly I was able to see into the soil and saw that it was severely infested with some type of millipede - so, since the plant was on its way out and living in a cube with bugs is not my idea of a good time, I took a few clippings, rooted them and started over. That was about two months ago - now goldfish plant v2 is thriving and seems to be bug free.

My concern is that it is not really flowering. It has these yellowish orange buds that kinda peter out before becoming a true flower. The old plant had lots of flowers.

I have fertilized the soil, I am watering it every 4 days, misting it regularly to keep up with its humidity requirements... I worry the issue is the light. I am no where near a window - there is no natural sunlight... it is completely dependent (as am I) on the florescent lighting in my office.

Does this plant need natural sun to flower?
Any advice on this plant? I have become somewhat attached to it and want to make sure I take the best care of it that I can.... and some flowers would be nice.

Thanks so much!

In order for a goldish plant to bloom to it's fullest extent it needs to be keps moist and needs high amount of indirect sunlight. From what you describe, most likely the plant isn't getting enough sunlight. Tyr moving to a window with more light or add a grow light to make it bloom.

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Operational Manager at
Earl May Nursery and Garden Center in Ames, Iowa

UPDATE - it has now been 5 months since the rescue opperation - while it is thriving, there are still no flowers/goldfish.

I believe the scientific name is 'Nematanthus gregarius' - when I do a Google image search the results match the plant I have (sans flowers/goldfish).