I can't speak for a lipstick plant specifically but here's some general info on blooming.

1. When will it bloom? When its ready
2. Most houseplants don't bloom becuase of a lack of light - eight feet from the S window in my opinion is no light at all. How long does it get light from the E window? You might want to consider moving it outdoors or getting some artificial supplemental lighting.
3. Bloom Buster - From what I have gleaned off the internet and here at GW the blooming fertilizers with the high second number, work by stressing the plant into flowering.
4. Some plants need long nights to flower, others need short nights to flower, some need a nightly drop in temperature etc.

In all, the best thing for flowering is good culture. The fert will make the blooms better, but probably won't induce flowering in a plant that isn't ready to do it. I'm sure someone with more experience with lipstick plants will chime in and add some more specific info.
Hope this helps
Bob

Trace, do you have a west window you can place your Lipstick plant in? I have two types of Aeschynanthus. Both were hanging in the same west windows, both have bloomed in the past..one of the tiles fell off, and down came one Aeschynanthus. So, it's sitting on a table in front of the west window, but not getting as much sun as the lipstick, yet the lipstick has been blooming about 2 months now, whereas the other has nary a bud..
BTW, your lipstick is gorgeous..Toni

Isnt an east window better than a west one?? I am really confised about the windows and which ones are the best.....I have my succulents and cacti in my south windows......the bloomers, av's, lipstick, pothos, hoya, in my east window supplemented by the south window, and a greenhouse with lights, this room is really bright all day, and then I put the lower light plants in my North window in the living room, which is still a pretty bright room.

I agree a 10-54-10 fertilizer is going to stress your plant tremendously. I've used the 0-10-10 bloom fertilizer with good results. You really don't want the first number to have a high number or any number at all if you want blooms.

I dont understand why bloom buster would stress my plants? Wouldnt it just encourage them to flower, I only used it once, but the label says to use it evertime for fruitung or flowering plants......why do I want a low nitro number, isnt that primarily for foliage and rooting?? Would I not still want that to occur?

Thanks for all your answers!!

Tracy

A lot of plants flower when they are stressed as a last resort for survival. Most house conditions are too dry/dark/warm/cold/etc. for some plants to be comfortable blooming, so the idea of some bloom ferts are to induce stress to make them think they are on their last leg. Yes, nitro is used for green growth, and a lot of plants will ditch flowers in favor of leaves if given the chance. keep the nitro down for a couple of months then when buds form feed an all purpose food.
A good tip is to check light requirements on your plant also, it may not bloom if it doesn't have enough regardless of what you do.

I dont understand why bloom buster would stress my plants?

At one time it was believed P (middle number) was responsible for plants blooming. Then folks started testing plant tissue to determine exactly what nutrients the plant was actually taking up and in what amounts and a 'startling' discovery was made. It's rare that plants take up P in large amounts, in fact in many/most cases plants were using more calcium than P.

As we learned more about the incredibly complex role the various plant nutrients play it was determined that the high levels of P previously used to induce blooming actually created a nutrient imbalance severe enough that some nutrients became unavailable to the plant and this is what stresses the plant out.

As has been noted by previous posters many plants will flower if they detect they are in trouble in an attempt to reproduce before they die. This doesn't mean the high P fert will actually kill your plant nor does it even mean that you will have created a serious nutrient imbalance in your container by having used it.

Nevertheless the idea that high P promotes blooms seems to be correct, but not for the reasons we used to believe.

The bloom booster is OK to use, but I agree that the most important element is sufficient light. The chances of it blooming will be better if you can get it outside (first in shade, and then with some direct AM sun). If you want to keep it inside, try hanging it as close as possible to the southern exposure window. Good Growing to you!
Ray

I used a bloom "booster" (not "buster"! You don't want your blooms to BUST, you want them to have a BOOST :))
But I only used it once this year so far. I plan on using it maybe once more (if that...I might not use it at all). I don't really feel comfortable using it frequently, but maybe someone that uses it frequently can chime in. I used it just to try and give my hoyas a "boost"...not sure if it did anything, but I thought I'd just give em' some anyway.

If you have a regular fertilizer you like, I'd stick with that, and then maybe use the bloom booster once a month until the end of the summer (if you still want to use it). Everything said above makes complete sense, but I don't think it would hurt your plants to use it occasionally. Just make sure you flush your plants with plain water every few waterings (if you fertilize with every watering, that is).

Gabi

Trace, I've never used Bloom buster/booster..do directions state to use every time you water? Also, do you use the amount suggested or cut in half? It just seems like a lot of food per plant.
There's only one plant food I've used, (long time ago) that recommeded using everytime you water..It was made by Shultz..you added 7 drops of this liquid food per gallon of water. It's numbers were low..They had one for green plants and another for flowering. Not sure they even make it anymore..
If you're following directions, and your flowering plants are doing well, then continue doing so, but keep an eye on them..And like Gabi suggested, since you're using during every watering, flushing is a good idea..You certainly don't want root burn or salt build up..Good luck, Toni

Toni, I use the Schultz stuff as well for certain plants, the one that is 7 drops per gallon, this one is also made by Schulz and yes i says to use it every time.....for flowering or fruiting plants. I dont fertilize my plants on a regular basis, kind of weakly when I remember. Flushing?? I am not sure what this mean, but maybe I just did it with my AV's, I washed the soil from the roots gently, very gently....lol, because they were in a very crappy potting medium, is this whatflushing is.....washing away old soil with a hose or tap??

Thanks everyone!!

Tracy

Tracy,
Flushing means to water your plants thoroughly with plain water (no fertilizer added) to get rid of a build up of fertilizer. Like Toni said, not flushing a plant that is fertilized often can cause root burn. Make sure the water goes through the drain holes several times when you do this (actually, whenever you water, even with fertilizer, you should let that happen). You might want to do this on a schedule, like every 5th watering use just plain water to flush the plants (just an example).

You seem to be fertilizing a lot...you might want to really dilute the strength if you fertilize every week. I use very weak plant food, so I also fertilize with almost every watering...just make sure your fertilizer is not too strong.

Hope that helps,
Gabi

Most plants have two types of growth, flowering and leaving. Rarely do both happen at the same time, if you must use a bloom fert use it until you see buds, then feed it your regular food. Otherwise you'll confuse the plant thus stressing it even more. You'd have better results using a 1/4 diluted all purpose fert every watering or every other watering and leave it at that.

Trace, when I flush plants all that's done is, bring a plant to sink, then spray water w/hose..(if u have one) in soil. For plants summered outside, I use garden hose, and allow water to run through soil..
You must be truly dedicated to plants..LOL..feeding w/each feeding..I have problems feeding plants once a month..it takes hours..LOL..Toni

I water all my plants at different times, the ones that can go drier do, it does take a while, but I like it.....still. You have a ton, really a ton...lol, more plants than me. I saw the pics, I am no where close to that. I have close to 100 plants, not including the seedlings and AV babies under my lights....not sure what to do when all these leaves sprout babies...lol.

I checked my fertilizer bottle, all from Schultz, none of them say tehy have urea in them, how do I tell?? I read some other posts and saw that Schultz has urea in it, but I cant see it labelled on any of my containers.

Thanks everyone!!

Trace, actually I need to update my site..this winter, when there were problems here at home, I neglected plants..Many have died since..I have no one to blame but myself, and son of course. Depression is a horrible thing.
Anyway, some day when I have time going I'll delete those lost.
I never checked fertilizer bottles to see if it contains urea, but been using the same type for yrs, so guess I'm not too concerned..lol..
Trace, don't worry, the way you're going, you'll catch up w/the rest of us plant-addicted ppl..LOL..hey, it's not a bad thing..
Wait until you start getting involved w/rare rare tropicals, C&S's..LOL..there's a good number and always one 'we' want..gotta have it. Good luck, Toni

I have already determined I am an addict.....lol. Its come to actually searching for specific plants by the botanical name, I used to just grab the ones that were pretty, now its a whole different ball game....lol

Trace, I still grab the ones that are pretty...LOL..those I don't have, don't want duplicates, you know?
I guess to a degree, where all plant addicts..we grow, read, talk, get on GW, and what do we discuss? Plants..LOL..Toni

Thats all I do at home too...lol, my kids are always bugging me, "is that all you talk about is plants"....lmao. Yes, I found a healthy addiction that reduces my stress, yes all I talk and read about is PLANTS!!!

Tracy

It's a great addiction though, right? LOL..It can be costly but what the heck..There was only 1 plant in all the yrs of growing, where I paid over 40.00, well, honestly, it was 75.00..LOL..and that was a gardenia tree..I remember thinking 20.00 was extravagant, lol..Most of the time I look for bargains, or buy small plants..for instance, we went to HD last wkend..they had different size succulent pots..small was inexpensive whereas larger plants were at least 15.00+, so I stuck w/the small..I know they'll take longer to get to that size, but I figure I can buy more than one type for 15.00..
Speaking of succulents, I don't know how many ppl here enjoy them, but many HD's are having a huge sale and so many varieties..think they're getting plants from another nursery..they're fantastic..I found a baby variegated Kalanchoe for 1.99..it's really pretty, never seen one like it..it was the last left, so I grabbed it up fast..Toni

Well by looking back through my posts, I cant believe it has been a month and a half since I started this post.....I have moved this plant to the south window, kept it weakly feritlized, it is growing great, big and bushier, but still no flowers at all, not even a hint of them. I have a cutting in water that is ready to bloom, ironic, isnt it, I can get a cutting to bloom but not the mommy plant.

I guess patience is the only way I will see this plant bloom....lol

Tracy

You appear to have a pot with a Marble Queen in it floating in mid air! lol! What's holding it up?

LOL, actually the marble queen is hanging down from the ceiling.....but the pot you are seeing, is a half pot that hangs onto the wall by a screw.....I found them at a dollar store once, I dont really like them but I have a couple plants in them. Looking back at the pic, it does look like it is floating......lol.

Tracy

Some lipstick plants tend to bloom at certain times of the year. It may not be it's time. Try it closer to the south window or a shady spot outdoors. When it's ready it will bloom. Fertilizer is overrated.