Ali had to make a bloomer (6)
I believe the answer is:
dahlia
'a bloomer' is the definition.
(dahlia is a kind of flowering plant)
'ali had to make' is the wordplay.
'to make' is an anagram indicator.
'ali'+'had'='alihad'
'alihad' with letters rearranged gives 'DAHLIA'.
(Other definitions for dahlia that I've seen before include "Tuberous garden plant" , "Suggestive of soil" , "Flower genus" , "Showy bloom" , "one in bed" .)