Bougainvillea Growing Guide: Grow It This Way for Vivid Colors and Blooms Lasting Over Half a Year

Bougainvillea, an evergreen small shrub with striking bright red flowers and relatively large blooms, gets its name because every 3 bracts cluster around a small triangular flower. Bougainvillea comes in many varieties, the plant is highly adaptable, the flower colors are vivid, and the blooming period is long, making it very suitable for container growing. How do you grow bougainvillea? Below, Huacao Le shares the bougainvillea growing methods.

I. Bougainvillea Growing Methods

Bougainvillea likes a warm and humid climate, is not cold-tolerant, and prefers full sunlight. It comes in many varieties, the plant is highly adaptable, and the flower colors include purple, red, white, yellow, and so on.

1. Choosing Potting Soil

Bougainvillea likes to grow in fertile, loose, well-drained sandy soil. When potting, mix in 30g of decomposed cake fertilizer as a base fertilizer.

2. Reasonable Fertilizing

During the vigorous growth period from April to July, apply liquid fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days. Starting in August, apply a phosphorus-based fertilizer once every 10 days to encourage flower bud formation. From October onward, it enters the blooming period; from then until mid-November, apply a phosphorus-based fertilizer once every half month, so that the blooming period continuously receives nutrient supplementation and the flowers bloom more vigorously.

3. Water Control Before Blooming

Follow the principle of “do not water until dry, and water thoroughly when you do.” Before blooming, water control must be carried out to ensure the flowers last a long time and are vivid. Starting in September, control watering of the bougainvillea; each time, wait until the potting soil is dry and the branches and leaves droop softly before watering. Repeat this continuously for half a month, then after half a month resume normal watering. During the water control period, absolutely do not fertilize, to avoid fertilizer burning the roots. In this way, after about one month, buds will appear and the plant will bloom, and the flowers will open uniformly and abundantly.

4. Repotting

Bougainvillea grows relatively fast, has a well-developed root system, and produces many fibrous roots, so it needs to be repotted once a year.

Bougainvillea is commonly propagated by cuttings and roots easily. The glabrous bougainvillea is a climbing type, and propagation is simple. You only need to insert its stems into the soil in early spring or late autumn, and within one month it will take root and grow branches and leaves. In the second year, it can bloom.

2. Bougainvillea Management Between Blooms

1. Light

It likes sunlight and is a sun-loving flowering plant; insufficient light during the growing season will cause the plant to grow weakly and produce few flowers.

2. Pruning

During the growing period, pay attention to shaping and pruning to promote side branch growth and produce more flowering branches. After each bloom, promptly remove spent flowers to reduce nutrient consumption. During the growing period, pinch out the growing tips in time to encourage side branches, which helps flower bud formation and promotes abundant blooming. After the blooming period, thin out overly dense branches, inner branches, leggy branches, and weak branches; other branches are generally not pruned, or only the tips are lightly trimmed. Avoid heavy pruning, so as to shorten the next growth cycle and encourage earlier blooming.

3. Pest and Disease Control

Common pests mainly include leaf beetles and aphids, and common diseases mainly include tip blight. Usually strengthen loosening the soil and weeding, promptly remove dead branches and diseased leaves, and pay attention to ventilation to reduce the spread of disease sources. Strengthen disease inspections and handle problems promptly when found.

4. Controlling the Blooming Period of Bougainvillea

If you want to see bougainvillea bloom for National Day, you can move the pot into a dark room in advance for light-shielding treatment, because it is a short-day flowering plant. Around early August, place the potted bougainvillea in an environment with no light leakage, with complete darkness every day from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day, maintain this for 50 days, and spray water daily to lower the temperature. Water normally, and once a week apply additional phosphorus and potassium liquid fertilizer or hoof shaving fertilizer. In this way, you can see brilliant bougainvillea for National Day.

Summary

The above is the bougainvillea growing method shared with you by the editor. We hope it can help you grow bougainvillea. May the bougainvillea you grow have vivid colors and bloom for over half a year.