How to manage bougainvillea after its flowers fade: Maintenance skills for bougainvillea post-blooming.

How to manage bougainvillea after flowering

Today's article will delve into the planting of green plants and flowers, focusing on how to manage bougainvillea after flowering. Here is a detailed introduction.

How to manage bougainvillea after flowering

Bougainvillea has a strong continuous blooming nature. By appropriately changing the environment, adjusting watering methods, shortening the duration of sunlight, and applying nitrogen-rich organic fertilizers, it is possible to extend the period of vegetative growth, making the bougainvillea's branches and leaves more lush. Extending the period of vegetative growth lays a solid foundation for the plant to bloom again later.

First, remove the withered flowers and prune appropriately

Removing withered flowers

After the bougainvillea flowers fade, the flower stems left on the branches turn brown, which not only affects the appearance but also consumes nutrients. Once the blooming period is over, you can trim the withered flowers along with the top of the branches. You can also remove some old leaves to promptly stop the nutrient consumption of withered flowers, flower stems, and the top branches, allowing the bougainvillea to concentrate nutrients and recover its vitality.

Appropriate pruning

During blooming, the branches at the flowering site continue to elongate.

After the flowers have wilted, many branches become excessively long and deviate from their original shape, requiring pruning to adjust and avoid affecting the overall ornamental value of the tree canopy.

After the bougainvillea has finished flowering, it is necessary to promptly trim the branches that have elongated during the flowering period and some useless branches, such as inner branches, crossed branches, suffocated branches, and axillary branches. The purpose of pruning is also to reduce nutrient consumption and quickly restore the plant's vitality.

Second, adjust the environment appropriately

When promoting bougainvillea blooming, we usually keep it in full sunlight to enhance photosynthesis and encourage more flowers.

However, excessive sunlight can promote reproductive growth during the flowering period and inhibit the plant's vegetative growth.

After the bougainvillea has finished flowering, we can appropriately shorten the duration of sunlight exposure, based on the principle of 'blooming in the sun and sprouting in the shade.' You can provide partial shade or move the pot to a location with less than 6 hours of sunlight.

This can make the bougainvillea's branches and leaves more vigorous and promote more sprouting after pruning. When moving the pot, be sure to avoid the midday intense sunlight.

Third, increase water supplementation

Before and during the flowering period, we usually limit the water supply to the bougainvillea to promote flowering and prevent the branches and leaves from becoming too long.

Even during the flowering period, we only restore the watering to normal levels, but the flowers consume a lot of water, which means during the peak flowering period, water is primarily supplied to the flowers rather than the branches and leaves.

The branches and leaves are still in a 'water deficit period.' Therefore, after the bougainvillea has finished flowering, it is necessary to increase the water supply.

After the bougainvillea has finished flowering, the watering method should still depend on the moisture of the planting material, adhering to the principle of 'not watering when dry, but watering thoroughly when watering.' However, you can supplement water to the bougainvillea through misting.

Mist the leaves of the bougainvillea twice a day, morning and evening, until water droplets fall, dampening the surface soil of the planting material.

Fourth, supplement nutrients

After the bougainvillea has finished flowering, the nutrients consumed during the flowering period are significant, leaving the plant weak. It is necessary to promptly supplement nutrients for the growth of the branches and leaves.

After flowering, pruning to reduce nutrient consumption, shortening sunlight exposure, and increasing water supplementation can effectively restore the plant's vitality. However, the most important method is still fertilization to shorten the recovery period.

After flowering, it is recommended to first supplement with nitrogen-based elements to change the focus of the plant's nutrient stage because nitrogen fertilizer mainly promotes the growth of branches and leaves.

Use urea diluted with water and water it onto the flower soil, once every two weeks, for two consecutive times. After two nitrogen supplements, resume using a balanced 'organic fertilizer.' Bury the composted chicken manure and rice husks shallowly in the surface layer of the pot soil through loosening the soil.

The above is a detailed explanation about how to manage bougainvillea after flowering, hoping it can be helpful to you!