How to Make Bougainvillea Bloom More
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Bougainvillea, also known as paperflower and Nine Layered Plant, is a shrub native to tropical regions. It usually grows rapidly from April to July and blooms from October to June of the following year. The key to cultivating Bougainvillea lies in providing suitable environmental conditions such as lighting, soil, and water, as well as good maintenance management practices like fertilizing, pruning, and repotting. Let's introduce it in detail below.
I. Suitable Cultivation Environment
1. Light Requirements
Bougainvillea loves light, with 8 to 12 hours of sunlight being ideal. It requires ample light to bloom normally, and insufficient sunlight can cause leaf drop. However, it needs to be shaded during the high temperatures of summer noon.
2. Soil Selection
Bougainvillea has no special requirements for the soil in which it is cultivated. It is tolerant of poor soil, alkalinity, and drought. Most soils can grow Bougainvillea. For better cultivation, it is best to use loose, breathable, and well-draining acidic soil. For potted plants, a mixture of decomposed leaf soil and garden soil can be used, with a small amount of coarse sand added.
3. Temperature Requirements
Bougainvillea is afraid of severe cold, with the optimal growth temperature being 15°C. It grows fastest at temperatures between 15 to 30°C, and the temperature for overwintering should be above 3°C. It needs to be above 15°C to bloom during the flowering period. In areas where the temperature is above 3°C in winter, it can be cultivated outdoors. In northern regions, it is important to keep the plants warm indoors during the winter.
4. Water Requirements
Watering Bougainvillea needs to be thorough when dry, and 30 to 35 days before the flowering period, watering should be moderate. Each watering should wait until the leaves wilt before watering again, which can promote the formation of flower buds. Normal watering should resume after the buds appear.
II. Cultivation Management
1. Fertilizing
Regular and moderate fertilizing is needed during the growing season and flowering period. During the growing season, apply cake fertilizer water every 7 to 10 days, and after the flowers fade, apply nitrogen fertilizer every 7 days, especially in summer, apply fertilizer every 15 to 20 days, and apply potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution as a foliar fertilizer every 15 days. Top-dressing in summer can promote the growth of flowering branches.
2. Pruning
Regular pruning is necessary. Bougainvillea is tolerant of pruning, and its branches and leaves tend to grow densely. To make it bloom more and have an attractive shape, it is necessary to regularly remove withered and yellow leaves and weak branches. Pruning can be done 1 to 3 times during the growing season to reduce the density of the plant's leaves, prevent diseases and pests, control plant height and shape, promote the growth of lateral branches, and produce more flower branches and buds. After flowering, it is important to prune the spent flowers.
3. Disease and Pest Control
Common diseases and pests of Bougainvillea include dieback disease, leaf beetles, and aphids. Diseases caused by pathogen infection can be controlled with medications such as thiophanate-methyl.
4. Repotting and Soil Replacement
Bougainvillea is usually cultivated outdoors. Long-term watering and rain can cause the soil to compact, so it is necessary to loosen the soil frequently. As Bougainvillea produces a large number of flowers, the soil nutrients can easily become deficient, and the root system grows quickly, requiring more space. Regular repotting is necessary, with repotting once a year being ideal.
The above introduces how to make Bougainvillea bloom more and the complete content of the cultivation methods and techniques of Bougainvillea glabra, for your comprehensive understanding and reference!