How to grow bougainvillea? Teaching you the correct cultivation methods

Bougainvillea is also known as paper flower, indoor flower, nine-fold kudzu, etc. It is a woody climbing shrub of the genus Bougainvillea in the Nyctaginaceae family. It has a strong growth habit, peculiar flower shapes, and brilliant, colorful blooms. When it flowers, it is especially bright and eye-catching. Especially in winter indoors, when the bright red and purple bracts open, it shines brilliantly and is passionately unrestrained, deeply loved by people. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for bougainvillea!

Growth habits of bougainvillea

Bougainvillea is native to tropical America and is cultivated for ornamental purposes in southern China. It likes a warm, humid climate and a sunny environment. It is not cold-tolerant, tolerates poor soil, tolerates drought, tolerates saline-alkali soil, and tolerates pruning. It has strong growth vigor and likes water but hates waterlogging. It requires sufficient light. In the Yangtze River basin and areas to the north, it is all cultivated in pots. It is not strict about soil requirements, but it can grow vigorously in fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam. Insufficient light will affect its flowering. The suitable growing humidity is 20-30°C.

Propagation methods for bougainvillea

1. Cuttings: In May to June, select robust 1-year-old branches and cut them into 10-15 cm long cuttings. Use vermiculite or plain sandy soil as the cutting medium. Insert the branches 4-6 cm deep into the soil, spray thoroughly with water, and place in a semi-shaded area or a sunny spot indoors. After 40 days, they can be potted up.

2. Layering: In May to June, select 1-2-year-old branches from the lower part of the plant and press them into a pot. The branches must be girdled, with a width at least 2 times the diameter of the branch. After layering, cover with soil and secure, and frequently spray water to keep moist. After more than 2 months, they can be cut off and potted up.

3. Grafting: Carry out in spring when the temperature is above 15°C. Use 3-4-year-old common bougainvillea as the rootstock, and select excellent varieties such as double-petaled ones as the scion, 5-10 cm long. Use the cleft grafting method. After grafting, it can heal in 40-50 days and send out new buds.

4. Water rooting: In late spring and early summer, cut 1-year-old branches from robust plants and cut them into 15-20 cm long sections as cuttings. Wash and disinfect a wide-mouthed bottle, fill it with clean water to about 2/3 of the bottle's volume, and insert the cuttings so that 1/3 is submerged in water. When the roots grow to 1 cm, pot them up.

Cultivation methods for bougainvillea

1. Planting: For planting bougainvillea, choose a location with sufficient light and good drainage to promote its growth. The time for potting or repotting is before bud break each spring. For the potting soil, use leaf mold, garden soil, sand, horse manure or bone meal, mixed evenly in a ratio of 2:3:3:2 as the growing medium. After planting, water thoroughly.

2. Temperature: Bougainvillea is a light-loving plant and should be placed in a sunny place during the growing season. Before frost in winter, move it into a greenhouse, keep the temperature at 10-15°C, place it in a sunny spot, and the lowest temperature should not be below 3°C. Around Guyu in April, move it out of the greenhouse and place it in a ventilated, sunny place for care. Move it indoors before frost.

3. Fertilizing: Fertilizing bougainvillea varies with the seasons. Stop fertilizing in winter. When planting or potting/repotting in spring, apply sufficient base fertilizer. After potted plants are moved out of the greenhouse, apply well-rotted cake fertilizer water or hoof paring water 3-4 times a month. Before the flowering period, apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers several more times. Reduce the amount of fertilizer in autumn. In summer, during vigorous growth, apply fertilizer water once a week.

4. Watering: Bougainvillea likes water but hates waterlogging. After planting or potting/repotting each year, water once thoroughly. During the peak growing season, spray water once every morning and water once in the afternoon (after 4 PM). In spring and autumn, water once every 2 days as appropriate. In winter indoors, watering can be controlled to promote full dormancy of the plant; do not water until the soil is dry.

5. Pruning: Bougainvillea has strong growth vigor, so it needs shaping and pruning every year, and a heavy pruning for renewal every 5 years. The time can be each spring or after flowering. Cut off overly dense branches, dry branches, diseased and weak branches, crossing branches, etc., to promote new branches. After leaf drop and flower drop during the flowering period, clean up promptly, and remove residual flowers promptly after flowering.