Bougainvillea not blooming? Fertilizing tips and flowering secrets fully explained
Bougainvillea, also known as paperflower, comes in colors such as red, orange, purple, white and more. It blooms in a riot of brilliant colors in winter and spring and is very beautiful. But some people's bougainvillea doesn't bloom, or blooms very little. What's the reason? A big reason is lack of fertilizer. Only with enough fertilizer can it grow lush branches and leaves and bloom nonstop.
Tips for fertilizing bougainvillea
1. Although bougainvillea is grown mainly for its foliage, it actually prefers nitrogen fertilizer, and to make the flowers brightly colored and richly varied, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are also needed. The most suitable fertilizers for bougainvillea are chicken manure, organic fertilizer fermented from fish and shrimp, or monopotassium phosphate and compound fertilizer, all of which work.
2. Whether bougainvillea is planted in pots or in the ground, applying plenty of base fertilizer before planting is also important. Farmyard manure works well - chicken manure, duck manure and sheep manure can all be used. Chemical fertilizer must not be used as base fertilizer.
3. Except in winter, the rest of the year is the growing season for bougainvillea, and it should be fertilized once every half month. Only then can it grow vigorously and bloom abundantly.
4. When fertilizing bougainvillea in spring, you can spray monopotassium phosphate once a week for three weeks in a row, and the flowers will bloom especially vigorously.
5. When fertilizing, wait until the soil has become dry before applying fertilizer. Do not apply additional fertilizer when the soil is too wet. In summer, the frequency of fertilizing should also be reduced, and do not fertilize bougainvillea in winter.
The secret to making bougainvillea bloom immediately
It is to control its water for a period of time, not watering for several days, until the leaves turn slightly red and wilt, then water thoroughly once, and it will suddenly burst out flower buds. In addition, making it bloom in winter is also very simple: place the potted bougainvillea in a heated place, a warm place, and it will keep blooming, and can even bloom for half a year.
The above is an introduction to bougainvillea fertilizing tips and flowering secrets. Bougainvillea is a flower with great ornamental value, and it would really be a pity if it doesn't bloom. All the tips for making bright red bougainvillea bloom are here. If you find them useful, give them plenty of likes!
How to grow and care for bougainvillea and points to note; reasons bougainvillea does not bloom
The ordinary and unassuming bougainvillea can be seen everywhere in early summer in Shenzhen. It is a tropical plant that likes a warm, humid climate and is not cold-tolerant. People also call bougainvillea paperflower, lè dù juān (Rhododendron simile), and so on. So do you know where bougainvillea originates? Let's learn about it together below.
[Where is bougainvillea native to]
Bougainvillea is native to South America. In the 1950s, botanical gardens in the southern provinces of the mainland and exhibition greenhouses in major northern cities gradually introduced and cultivated bougainvillea in large quantities. At present, it is commonly cultivated throughout the country and widely used for landscaping arrangements such as indoor balconies, windowsills and public places. Bougainvillea has also become an ornamental flowering shrub widely loved and widely used by residents in various places.
It is cultivated in all parts of China. It is also the city flower of more than ten cities at home and abroad, including Sanya and Haikou in Hainan; Beihai and Wuzhou in Guangxi; Sanming and Xiamen in Fujian; Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Huizhou and Jiangmen in Guangdong; as well as Pingtung in Taiwan, China.
[Morphological characteristics of bougainvillea]
Bougainvillea is originally a vine-like small shrub in the Nyctaginaceae family, also known as paperflower, hairy bougainvillea, and ninefold kudzu; the variegated-leaf lè dù juān is an evergreen climbing shrub. The branches have thorns and arch downward. The leaves are simple, alternate, ovate with entire margins or ovate-lanceolate, covered with thick down, with rounded blunt tips. The flowers are terminal, very slender and small, yellow-green; their appearance is not striking and they go unnoticed. They usually cluster three together inside three relatively large bracts, and the flower stalk is fused with the midvein of the bract. The bracts are ovate and are the main ornamental part. The bracts are leaf-like and come in bright red, orange-yellow, purplish red, milky white and so on; by leaves, they can be divided into two types: variegated and ordinary; bracts can be single or double; the bracts are leaf-like, triangular or elliptical-ovate; the fruit is an achene. In total, this bougainvillea has about 40 different varieties. The bracts resemble brilliant flower petals, hence the names paperflower and triangle flower. In winter and spring, the brilliantly colored bracts appear, giving people a feeling of boldness and warmth, so it is also named "Hè Chūn Hóng" (Spring Greeting Red).
The flower language of bougainvillea is passion, perseverance, and a tenacious, striving spirit. Bougainvillea also has another flower language: without true love, there is sadness. Everywhere you can see brilliantly colored bougainvillea, leaves linked to leaves, branches linked to branches, bright and passionate. When it is at its most splendid and colorful, among the red and purple you can hardly find a trace of green leaves. Yet although the flower is so passionate and bold, its flower language is "without true love, there is sadness." In Hainan Province, although bougainvillea is also very beautiful, people usually avoid giving it as a gift, because bougainvillea also implies "love triangle."
[How to grow and care for bougainvillea and points to note]
1. Soil: Bougainvillea is not strict about soil and grows well in heavy clay loam that drains well and is rich in minerals; it tolerates poor soil, alkali and drought, and dislikes waterlogging. Slightly acidic soil is most favorable for the growth of bougainvillea.
2. Watering: In spring and autumn, water once a day; in summer, water once in the morning and once in the evening each day; in winter, watering should be controlled. After flower buds appear, water once in the morning and once in the evening each day, and at the same time spray the leaf surface 1-2 times. During the plum rain season, prevent waterlogging so the plant does not rot at the roots and die.
3. Temperature: The suitable growing temperature is 15-30°C. In summer, appropriate shading or measures such as spraying water and ventilation should be used. In winter, the ambient temperature should be maintained no lower than 5°C.
4. Fertilizing: In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer in the potting soil, additional fertilizer should also be applied during the growing season. Add a small amount of monopotassium phosphate, and at the same time spray the leaves with a 0.1%-0.2% monopotassium phosphate solution. During the peak flowering period, water with alum fertilizer water once a week and spray the leaves with 0.2% monopotassium phosphate.
5. Light: Throughout the year, except that newly potted young seedlings should first be placed in partial shade. In winter, it should be placed in front of a south-facing window, and the light duration must not be less than 8 hours.
6. Propagation: Selection of cuttings: bougainvillea branches, whether as thick as an arm or as thin as incense sticks, can be used for cuttings; thick branches root late but take shape quickly; one-year-old lignified green branches easily produce new roots and have a high survival rate. Generally choose tightly structured, thick 1-2 year old outer sun-facing branches (do not use overly thin branches, immature branches, leggy branches, or shaded branches). Use a sharp small knife to cut them into sections of 3-4 nodes (about 8-10 cm long), with the lower oblique cut 5-10 mm below the node. Remove the lower leaves and keep the upper two and a half (or whole) leaves as the cutting.
7. Pruning: Paperflower has strong growth vigor, so it needs shaping and pruning every year. Paperflower is commonly propagated by cuttings and is easy to raise. In May and June, cut mature lignified branches 20 cm long, insert them into a sand pot, cover with glass, keep moist, and roots can form in about one month; after two years of cultivation it can bloom. Pruning method: after flowering, it should be pruned moderately, cutting off the flower stalk and cutting back the flower-bearing branches by 1/3, and thinning out weak branches, short branches and inner branches. In winter, prune together with repotting and soil changing. Pruning should grasp: short, heavy, thin. Short means short cutting, keeping 1/3 of the branch; heavy means heavily pruning long flowering branches; thin means thinning out weak branches so they regrow strong branches, also called renewal pruning. The cut branches can be kept as cuttings for propagation. In the south, where bougainvillea is planted for flower trellises, fences and gateways, it does not go dormant or drop leaves in winter, so only light pruning is done, but tying, distributing and training should be done so that the branches on the trellis are evenly and reasonably distributed and cover the trellis.
8. Pest and disease control: Bougainvillea brown spot disease harms the leaves, producing yellow-brown to light brown lesions 0.1-0.5 cm in diameter on the leaf surface. When a small number of diseased leaves are found, remove and burn them promptly. In the early stage of the disease, use 70% mancozeb wettable powder at 400 times dilution, spraying once every 10 days for 3 to 4 times in a row. On bougainvillea leaf spot disease, the lesions are initially yellow-brown with a yellow-green halo around them, then expand into nearly round or irregular lesions with dark brown edges, and in the later stage small black dots appear on the lesions. When a small number of lesions are found, you can smear Dakning cream ointment on them, cut off the branches with more disease, and in the early stage of the disease generally use 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 500 times dilution for control, spraying once every 7-10 days. In severe cases, according to actual experience, spray once again on the fourth day, and then once every 7 days. For 3-4 times in a row, the control effect is good. Scale insects: in environments with poor light, poor ventilation and high temperature and humidity, various scale insects are prone to occur and suck sap and cause harm; they can be killed by spraying 45% malathion emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution.
[Reasons bougainvillea does not bloom]
Light problem: Bougainvillea is a sun-loving plant and requires sufficient light during the growing period. The stronger the sunlight, the more and more brilliantly it blooms. Conversely, if it grows in a dark environment for a long time, it will not bloom.
Branches and leaves too dense: nutrients are dispersed, and it is also not easy to form flower buds.
Fertilizing: If only nitrogen fertilizer is applied and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are lacking, it will only grow branches and leaves and not bloom. The secret to growing bougainvillea well: no pruning, no branching; no drought, no flowering. In autumn and winter, be sure not to water too much, and next year there will be many flowers!
The above is the relevant introduction in this article. I believe after reading it you also have a simple understanding of this. If needed, you can continue to follow No.1 Home Network to learn more information.
Decoding the reasons bougainvillea does not bloom and how to handle it
As the city flower of many cities in our country, bougainvillea surely has a unique flavor, and planting a bougainvillea surely has a unique charm. However, some people do not see it bloom during cultivation. Why is that? Below, Succulent Flower Garden will analyze it for everyone.
There are three reasons bougainvillea does not bloom. Light reasons, branches and leaves too dense, and insufficient fertilizer.
Light problem:Bougainvillea is a sun-loving plant and requires sufficient light during the growing period. The stronger the sunlight, the more and more brilliantly it blooms. Conversely, if it grows in a dark environment for a long time, it will not bloom.
Branches and leaves too dense:Nutrients are dispersed, and it is also not easy to form flower buds.
Fertilizing:If only nitrogen fertilizer is applied and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are lacking, it will only grow branches and leaves and not bloom. The secret to growing bougainvillea well: no pruning, no branching; no drought, no flowering. In autumn and winter, be sure not to water too much, and next year there will be many flowers!
How to make bougainvillea bloom more
To make bougainvillea bloom more and bloom often, you must grasp its characteristics to have a profusion of flowers and continuous blooming. Some people's bougainvillea blooms very well just after buying it, but after growing it for a while, the flowers become fewer. Upon asking, they learn it was watered too often, the nutrients were absorbed by the leaves, there were more leaves, and fewer flowers. Therefore, when caring for bougainvillea, attention should be paid to controlling moisture; controlling water is instead beneficial for producing flowers. This is why home-grown bougainvillea "with frequent watering does not bloom, with little water blooms nonstop."
Bougainvillea especially likes strong light and high temperatures, is not afraid of scorching sun, and does not require much water; keeping the potting soil moist is enough. In autumn and winter, be sure to control water for 1 month, keeping it half dry and half wet, and it does not matter even if green leaves drop. Bougainvillea is vigorous and has strong sprouting ability, and is especially tolerant of pruning. But if pruned excessively, especially when planted along roadsides, in order to keep it in a relatively fixed shape it is often pruned into a "bald top," and then there are fewer flowers. It should be noted that when repotting and trimming the roots of old potted plants, do not water immediately; you can water once two days later, and after the new shoots and stems have basically grown, gradually switch back to normal watering and place it in a place with sufficient sunlight.
Bougainvillea is not cold-tolerant. Once the temperature drops sharply, the plant will drop a large number of leaves. Leaves are prone to cold damage below 3°C. At this time, be sure not to water too much. It should be placed in an environment of 10°C to 15°C, watered about once every 10 days, and after buds sprout and leaves grow in the coming spring, gradually increase the amount of watering. Otherwise, it will cause root rot and death.