Bougainvillea: basic recommendations for care and watering regime

Among the variety of indoor plants, bougainvillea can rarely be found, care it requires some effort, which is why many people refuse to grow it in their home. But it is very beautiful, grows to large sizes, and becomes an ideal decoration in the room.

Content:

Conditions for bougainvillea
Watering rules and propagation
Planting, replanting and pruning bougainvillea
Diseases and pests

Conditions for bougainvillea

Bougainvillea requires some care, although it will not cause much trouble. It should be placed in places that are well lit. The plant benefits from sunlight, especially during the growing season. Therefore, it is recommended to move bougainvillea to the sun for several hours. In spring and summer, the plant should be placed in fresh air.

He is often moved to the balcony at this time. Bougainvillea will feel normal at a temperature of 22-30 degrees. When the plant is dormant, it is better to move it to a dark place with a low temperature. This plant needs abundant watering; for this, certain rules should be taken into account.

Watering rules and propagation

Watering bougainvillea varies depending on the season. In spring and summer, you need to water the plant abundantly. Soil moisture should be reduced in autumn and winter. But bougainvillea does not like drying out. Everything should be in moderation.When spring comes, you need to increase watering and also fertilize. Mineral or organic fertilizers are ideal for this.

When the plant stops blooming, you need to prune it and reduce soil moisture. This will have a good effect on the next flowering. Bouguervillea is demanding on air humidity. It needs constant spraying. This is especially important when the heating is turned on during the cold season. If the temperature in the room has not yet risen above 15 degrees, you should delay spraying. If the plant begins to shed its leaves, then there are problems with watering. Constantly hydrated the soil affects the fact that bougainvillea begins to lose leaves.

It is better to start propagating the plant in late spring and end in early summer. To do this, you can use one of two methods. Bougainvillea reproduces in the following ways:

cuttings
air layering

If the second method was chosen, then you will need to select a young stem. It needs to be bent in the soil and secured with wire. After some time, the bougainvillea will begin to take root. Next, you just need to separate the new plant and plant it in a separate pot. For propagation by cuttings, the top cutting is cut off. The place where the cut was was coated with a growth stimulator.

The lower foliage is removed and the cutting is placed in sand with peat. After this, conditions should be created such as in a greenhouse. To do this, the plant is covered with a plastic bottle or plastic bag. Seedling placed in a warm, bright place. It will take about 4 weeks, only then will the bougainvillea take root. After this, it is transplanted into a permanent container.

Planting, replanting and pruning bougainvillea

Slightly alkaline or well-drained soil is ideal for planting bougainvillea. It can grow in another land, but it will lose its beauty. It is better to go to special stores where you can purchase suitable soil. But you can do it yourself; for this, turf soil is combined with peat and sand. The young plant needs annual replanting in the spring.

Adult bougainvillea can be replanted less frequently, once every 3-4 years. You can select pots at your discretion, but it is worth remembering that in a narrow container the plant will bloom well, and in a spacious container it will develop well.

An important step in caring for bougainvillea is pruning. This plant quickly takes on an interesting shape if you do not remove excess parts. Pruning It is better to do it in spring and autumn. In spring, this procedure should be carried out as early as possible, and in autumn - after flowering. Those shoots on which the inflorescences were located are cut in half. This will result in a lush bloom the next time.

Diseases and pests

Bougainvillea rarely suffers from pests. But it can be attacked by aphids or mealybugs. To get rid of these pests, you should use special preparations. More often, bougainvillea begins to die from improper conditions or stress. For example, dropped leaves may indicate that the owner is not watering the plant correctly.

This is how the flower reacts to a lack or excess of soil moisture. If watering is restored, the bougainvillea will produce leaves. Can affect dropped foliage transfer. In this situation, you should wait some time for the plant to recover.If inflorescences do not appear, then there may be problems with the temperature. Bougainvillea may shed its leaves and not bloom due to the fact that it is located in a place where there are drafts.

To avoid problems, you should adhere to the following rules:

You need to beware of hot and dry weather, chlorosis, which can attack the foliage.
After flowering has finished, you should pinch off the branches.
It is necessary to prune the plant so that the leaves do not fall off and the plant has a beautiful shape.

Bougainvillea is a beautiful plant that can be used to decorate not only rooms, but also balconies and summer cottages. If you follow simple rules, there will be no problems with growing.

Video about the bougainvillea plant: