Reasons Why Bougainvillea Fails to Form Buds
The following is a green plant and flower explanation of the reasons why bougainvillea fails to form flower buds, for your reference:
Autumn is the peak blooming season for bougainvillea, and many gardening enthusiasts' bougainvillea plants bloom beautifully. However, one enthusiast left a message saying that his bougainvillea buds have been growing for a long time but have not opened. Let's analyze this issue today.
Reasons Why Bougainvillea Buds Fail to Open
Bougainvillea is a type of flower that blooms profusely and has a long blooming period. It is very tough and easy to care for, making it friendly for beginners. If you like flowering plants but are not very good at caring for them, bougainvillea is a recommended choice for you.
The blooming characteristic of bougainvillea is that branches grow on one side while flowers bloom on the other, until the bud at the top of the branch opens, at which point it stops forming new buds until the whole flower head wilts, is pruned, and then sprouts again, followed by more blooming.
Bougainvillea typically has a peak blooming period in the autumn and winter seasons when the temperature is cool. However, due to different management methods and varying climates in different regions, the reasons for bougainvillea buds failing to open generally fall into the following two categories.
1. Low Temperature
The temperature in autumn gradually decreases, and there is a significant difference in cooling times between different regions. In some areas, it cools down quickly, and the buds may not have opened yet when it gets cold. In a low-temperature environment, the growth of buds is very slow, so the time required to open them becomes longer, which to us appears as the buds not opening for a long time.
In such cases, as long as attention is paid to keeping the environment warm, the buds will slowly open. However, if the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius, it will be more difficult, and in the end, the buds are mostly likely to fall off.
2. Insufficient Fertilization and Watering
The reason why bougainvillea fails to form flower buds
Although bougainvillea is tolerant to poor soil, it does not mean it doesn't need fertilizer and water. On the contrary, since bougainvillea blooms profusely, it also consumes more fertilizer and water. If it is not fertilized for a long time, and the plant shows a deficiency in phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, the buds may also fail to open for a long time due to the lack of sufficient fertilizer and water to support the continued development and growth of the buds, which can also easily lead to the phenomenon of buds falling off.
When bougainvillea first starts to bloom, many enthusiasts may stop fertilizing out of concern that additional fertilizer could cause the already open flowers to wither prematurely.
However, bougainvillea grows and blooms simultaneously. Based on this blooming characteristic, we cannot stop fertilizing when the plant first starts to bloom. Instead, we should continue to apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to promote the growth of new flower buds until the buds at the top of the branches show color, at which point we can stop fertilizing.