How to grow bougainvillea so it blooms all year round

1. Water control

Whether it blooms is somewhat related to how much water it gets, so you can regulate its blooming schedule by controlling the amount of water. The prerequisite for water control is proper routine care. Normally, watering should alternate between dry and moist periods, and you should withhold water starting 50 days before it blooms.

At the beginning, you can skip watering for three to five days, letting its leaves and branches droop slightly, then splash water over the canopy in the afternoon. After fifteen days you can return to normal, which helps its flower buds develop. Once the flower buds appear, you can fertilize to help more flowers grow.

2. Shading

It likes sunlight and needs plenty of it while growing, and even in the very cold winter it needs to be placed somewhere with light. If it gets too little sunlight, its growth will be poor, its branches will be thin and spindly, and its leaves will be dull in color.

About 50 days before it blooms, you can cover it with a dark plastic bag, preferably black, so that no light gets through. Shading it for about a month can also promote the formation of flower buds, but when it does not need shading, you must make sure it gets enough light.

3. Fertilizer control

It produces many flowers and its blooming period is long, so it certainly uses up a lot of nutrients, which means you definitely need to supply enough fertilizer, especially phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. During its vigorous growth period, you can give it fertilized water once a week. Once flower buds emerge at the leaf axils, you can fertilize it more. After the flowers are in full bloom, you can add ferrous sulfate once every three to five days.

From August to October, you can use fertilized water instead of plain water. Do not use too much nitrogen fertilizer, or it will grow rampantly. You can also buy a special growth regulator for it, which will make its leaves greener, its canopy denser, and its flower colors more vivid, and can extend its blooming time by twenty to thirty days.

4. Pruning

After its flowers fade, repot it promptly and prune it appropriately according to its growth. Cut off the flower stalks to help the mother branches that bear flowers grow. Its outer branches bear more flowers, so the inner branches can be cut off, which avoids wasting nutrients and also creates a light, airy environment that helps extend its blooming period.