Kojo no mai help needed

Hello, I planted this shrub in April 2023 but it didn’t flower. This year, whilst the shrub looks really healthy, very bushy, thick green zig zagging leaves, it still didn’t flower. Is this normal? Might it flower next year?

 

Maybe grow it in a pot for a while. Maybe it’s too comfy.A bit of stress in its life may make it think that it has to reproduce by flowering?

 

Oh interesting, maybe I need to be more vigilant in Feb/Mar. We were away for 2 weeks in Apr and I wondered if I’d missed it. Is the blooming period fairly short?

 

It certainly looks comfy.

 

Also - what size was it when you planted it @Sue Crewdson ? It takes several years for any woody shrub/tree to be mature, and if it was only planted in spring 2023 it'll have taken until this spring [more or less] to be properly established and start growing well, assuming it's healthy, which it seems to be from your description. A lot of areas had very difficult summer conditions in 2023 so it may have taken even longer, and shrubs/trees concentrate on their root systems in the early years, at the expense of any flowers.
They don't flower as early here as they would in the far south, so again - your location will also dictate the timing of flowering. Most cherries are spring flowering, but spring varies enormously from area to area, and so does the weather.
If you have a photo, that always helps with accurate advice too.