Firethorn not firing ?

I have a Firethorn (pyracantha coccinea) at the front of the house , in a sunny position. In 2011 we had a stunning display of red berries all winter. This last year 2012 we only had a handful of flowers so no more than 3 small bunches of berries ! Is this erratic flowering normal , are there any feeding / care tips that can help promote flowering this year ?

TIA

 

Not sure about Firethorn Harry, but its not uncommon for Apple trees to fall into a bienial fruiting pattern. Could have been the weather last year though, not much fruit on anything.

I've not picked Rose Hips this year, figuring the birds need what little is there more than I do.

 

Mine didn`t have many berries either this year, but I put that down to the pruning I gave it

 

I have 3 (yellow, red and orange). The yellow one performed okay, but my red one has completely died , the orange one was a little sparse now you come to mention it

 

neither the red or yellow bore berries but they only young uns maybe better this year

 

I had one that has taken at least 12 years to produce anything worthwhile.
The others are extremely vigorous and I run into problems because they need so much pruning - either I have to cut off old wood before it has flowered or I end up cutting off tiny berries before they swell and colour. But they'd be the size of trees left unpruned, I reckon. So they are willing to produce berries but the final result is patchy.

 

Crikey, ARM, did you get a potted history with that garden of yours ... 30yrs old pyracantha!!!???? We know you are only 21!

 

My pyracantha is 5 years old and winters 10/11 and 11/12 it produced a lovely heavy crop of berries.

 

Yup, I've played word association with you and change one letter: say no more (Puts you about .... hmmm .... maybe .... 13yo? )

 

I have three of these out the front and chopped one back to a stick. It has come back with vengeance. Blackbirds have nested and and as expected the berries were full.
Two reds had not many berries and the yellow one still has a few on it.
No special needs or requirements to mention as they just seem to get on with it.
If you want to add a bit of well rotted compost around the base and this will get them off to a good start.

 

Thanks all for the replies It does appear from the posts that Firethorn flowering/berries is a tad erratic . I'll follow your suggestion Landimad and replace the top 3 inches with a good rich manure mix , the end of next month .