Common Reasons for Rare Blooming of Bougainvillea
Let's share the common reasons for the rare blooming of bougainvillea and the causes of its sparse flowering, a topic about flowers and plants. Let's follow the editor to see the specific content!
It is said that bougainvillea has a very long blooming period, flowering for more than half the year, but why does the bougainvillea I cultivate only grow leaves and not bloom? Many novice gardeners must have this疑问. Today, I will analyze the reasons why bougainvillea blooms late, and how to make bougainvillea bloom continuously.
Common Reasons for Rare Blooming of Bougainvillea
Under proper care, it is quite normal for bougainvillea to bloom for seven or eight months a year. If your bougainvillea only blooms once a year, you should first rule out the reason of the variety.
1. Lazy Flower Variety
There are many varieties of bougainvillea, and some of them do not bloom easily, which we call lazy flower varieties. For example, varieties like 'Painting', 'Variegated Bougainvillea', 'Snow White', and 'Small Leaf Purple' bloom less frequently. Novice gardeners who grow these lazy flower varieties will relatively have fewer blooms.
Some bougainvillea varieties, on the other hand, bloom very frequently, blooming continuously one after another, such as 'Yunnan Purple', 'Zhangzhou Red Cherry', 'Green Leaf Cherry Blossom', 'Golden Heart Bicolor', and 'Samba'. These varieties are relatively short-lived and bloom more, and are recommended for novice gardeners to cultivate, offering a higher return rate.
2. Excessive Fertilization and Watering
Bougainvillea is a special plant. While other flowers prefer abundant fertilization and water to bloom more, bougainvillea is different. If there is too much fertilization and watering, bougainvillea will keep growing branches and leaves, with very long branches but no flowers.
Because bougainvillea itself has a vine-like nature, in a comfortable environment with abundant fertilization and water, bougainvillea will grow branches preferentially to strengthen its body shape but will not bloom. Conversely, if the growing environment of bougainvillea is very harsh, with drought and water shortage, then bougainvillea will consider blooming and reproducing. That's why we often hear that bougainvillea needs to control water, as controlling water can promote earlier blooming.
Therefore, during the growing period of bougainvillea, the amount of nitrogen fertilizer should be controlled, and when there are sufficient new branches, it is necessary to persist in controlling water. Each time, let the bougainvillea become dry until the leaves become soft and droop before watering. After a month of water control, bougainvillea generally will grow flower buds, although it may be relatively difficult for lazy flower varieties.
One thing to note is that during the stage of controlling water in bougainvillea, it is not just about drought. When watering after each drought, it is recommended to add phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Although bougainvillea is very tolerant to barrenness, if you want it to bloom more and maintain a long blooming period, you still need to fertilize, as flowering consumes nutrients. Watering with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer during the water control period can increase the number of flowers and extend the blooming period of bougainvillea, as well as help it rebloom quickly after flowering.
3. Insufficient Sunlight
Bougainvillea loves sunlight and can even be exposed to full sunlight during the hot summer like this year without any problems. If there is too little sunlight, bougainvillea will not grow well and will find it difficult to bloom.
How to Make Bougainvillea Bloom Quickly
To make bougainvillea bloom early and continuously, you first need to do the above three points: choose the right variety, maintain sufficient sunlight, and properly control water and apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. If your bougainvillea is now growing with many branches and leaves but still not blooming, there is another method to make bougainvillea bloom quickly: remove leaves.
Remove all the large leaves of bougainvillea, leaving only leaves larger than the size of a fingernail, making the bougainvillea into a bare stem and creating an artificial survival crisis. Then slightly control water and apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and soon the bougainvillea will grow many flower leaves.
The above discussion on the common reasons for the rare blooming of bougainvillea and how to make bougainvillea bloom quickly may provide a little help for your life!