Trim a leggy bougainvillea once and it explodes with blooms until you cannot even see the leaves. How is it done?

How do you get a kalanchoe to explode with blooms?

Spring has arrived, and it is once again time for the mysterious petunias, marguerites and pansies to explode with blooms. So how exactly do you grow these flowers to make them explode with blooms? Today Huahua will use kalanchoe as an example.

Tip one: dense cuttings

If you want your kalanchoe to produce a big ball of flowers, then you must plant cuttings densely, simply sticking many branches into one flowerpot!

1. Choose branches that have finished blooming

Use a sharp knife to cut off the kalanchoe branches that have finished blooming, then remove the flower buds and cut the branches into short sections of about 5cm.

2. Pruning the cuttings

For kalanchoe branches you want to root as cuttings, keep only 3-4 leaves on each branch, and cut half off each of the leaves you keep, removing the rest, which avoids unnecessary nutrient consumption.

3. Cut at a 45 degree angle

Cut the lower end of the kalanchoe branch at a 45 degree angle, then leave it in a cool, ventilated place for about 1 hour, letting the wound dry as much as possible, then apply a little rooting powder to the wound.

4. Loose, breathable potting soil

Prepare loose, breathable potting soil, expose it to the blazing sun for 1-2 days, or add a little carbendazim and stir it in to sterilise and disinfect the soil, then put the potting soil into a larger flowerpot.

5. Inserting the cuttings

Insert the kalanchoe branches into the soil, planting as many cuttings as possible, then water once thoroughly and leave them in a cool, ventilated place to wait for roots to form. Whenever you notice the soil is dry, water a little. After about 10-15 days, the kalanchoe cuttings will have rooted.

Tip two: pinching and topping

Once the rooted kalanchoe has grown bigger, we must keep pinching and topping it so it grows fuller and fuller with blooms!

1. The first pinching

When the kalanchoe seedling grows to 6-8 leaves, it is time for the first pinching. Cut off the top 3 pairs of leaves, keeping only the bottom 1-2 pairs of leaves.

2. Pinching repeatedly

About 1 week after the first pinching, the kalanchoe will grow new shoots again. When the new shoots produce 3 pairs of leaves, continue pinching, and keep pinching continuously. You can also spray a little chlormequat, and the kalanchoe will quickly explode with blooms!

How do you get a bougainvillea to explode with blooms?

If you want a bougainvillea to become a ball of flowers as quickly as possible, pruning is essential. Today Huahua will use the creation of a bougainvillea lollipop shape to explain how to grow a bougainvillea until it explodes with blooms!

Tip one: pruning

1. Prune the branches

A newly bought bougainvillea basically has rather messy branches with no attractive shape. At this point you can prune according to the positions shown by the red lines in the picture, and also cut off the horizontal branches on the main trunk at the same time.

2. Keep 4, remove 2

After hard-pruning the bougainvillea, if you want to create a lollipop shape, you must keep pinching the tips and topping. When the newly grown branches produce 6 leaves, cut off the middle 2 leaves, keeping only the bottom 4 leaves.

3. Keep pinching

After the first pinching, the new branches that grow should continue to have 2 removed and 4 kept, repeating over and over, until the bougainvillea develops a dense spherical shape. At this point you can let it bloom!

Tip two: fertiliser and light

1. Fertilising

Bougainvillea likes fertiliser. You can bury a few cooked soybeans in the flowerpot. During the growing season it also needs to be watered once a week with rice water or soybean cake water. Before it blooms, just spray more monopotassium phosphate.

2. Plenty of light

Bougainvillea particularly loves light. If grown indoors, it is best placed on a south-facing balcony or south-facing windowsill. If conditions allow, put it outdoors in full sun, which will make the bougainvillea bloom even more!

That is all Huahua has to share today.

Have all you flower friends learned it?

Why not give it a try right away!