Bougainvillea - home care, maintenance and cultivation in the apartment

24.03.2024 Flowers

Bougainvillea is a bright Brazilian beauty who needs good lighting and space. Currently, there are about 14 plant species that are found in the wild and approximately 300 artificially bred varieties. Among the bougainvilleas, one can find shrubs with winding shoots, the height of which does not reach even half a meter, and small trees.

Despite all its beauty and diversity, a flowering culture is not very popular among domestic flower growers and is rarely found in residential premises. Bougainvillea is undeservedly considered a capricious plant that is reluctant to grow at home, but in fact, simple care in accordance with several simple rules will allow you to grow a healthy plant.

Content

1 Characteristics of bougainvillea and species diversity
2 Caring for bougainvillea at home and the rules for maintaining the apartment
3 Propagation, growing and transplanting of room bougainvillea
4 Common Growing Questions

Characteristics of bougainvillea and species diversity

Bougainvillea is a small genus of evergreens that belongs to the Niktaginov family and named after the French traveler L.A. de Bougainville. The birthplace of the flower is considered to be Brazil. The plant is found in the form of shrubs and low trees with curly lianike branches. Shrub shoots are covered with long spiky, but rare spikes, with which they are fixed on a support.

As the liana grows, its stems are covered with a dark brown bark, which in mature vines acquires a grayish tint. Petiole ovate leaves are alternately located on the entire surface of young shoots. Small bright green leaves have smooth edges and a predominantly smooth surface, but varieties with pubescent leaf blades are found.

Tubular small flowers of shrubs, collecting in racemose inflorescences, do not have decorative value and quickly fall off. But the bright bracts of the creepers that surround the nondescript yellow-white flowers amaze with their beauty and variety. Each flower surrounds three large, like paper bracts, through which thin veins are visible. The shape and color of the bracts depends on the plant variety. Bracts retain their decorative effect for quite some time. You can appreciate the beauty of a flowering vine by the photo.

Caring for bougainvillea at home and the rules for maintaining the apartment

Bougainvillea is an unpretentious flowering culture that is ideal for keeping in an apartment. Growing this tropical flower indoors, the main thing to remember is that it needs a lot of light and does not tolerate cold air currents.

Lighting

Bougainvillea is quite demanding on lighting. The quality and duration of flowering depends on the amount of light that the shrub receives.

Note!

The plant should be in good light for at least 5-6 hours a day, and even direct sunlight will not bring him much harm.

Only in particularly hot periods does the plant need protection from the midday sun. For easy shading, you can use a thin curtain. Lack of light can lead to fading of leaf blades and a complete lack of flowering. An ideal place to place a flower would be the southern window sills.

Temperature and humidity

During the period of active vegetation, which occurs in spring and summer, it is recommended that the thermophilic shrub be kept at a temperature of 22 to 25 ° C. In winter, the bush is recommended to be kept in a cooler room, the temperature of which is in the range of 12-16 ° C. Such wintering stimulates further flowering of the shrub.

For normal growth, the shrub needs high humidity. Installing a container of water near the plant will help solve the problem of dry air. In the absence of flowering, you can moisten the leaves of the shrub with a spray bottle. It is not worth spraying the flowering bush, water entering the bracts will lead to their rapid withering.

Watering and feeding

In the spring-summer period, the flower needs regular and plentiful watering. Florists recommend watering the plant immediately after the topsoil has dried. The earthen substrate in the pot should always remain slightly moist. In winter, the frequency and intensity of irrigation should be minimized. It is enough to moisten the substrate slightly to prevent it from completely drying out.

From spring and flesh to mid-autumn, the plant needs additional nutrition. As a top dressing, it is best to use liquid fertilizers for decorative flowering crops. It is recommended to feed the bush 1 time in 14 days. A flower in hibernation does not need to be fed.

Flowering Care

Pruning and pinching

Regular pruning not only helps to inhibit the growth of the bush, but also improves its appearance. It is recommended to carry out the trimming procedure three times a year:

The first pruning is carried out in early spring before the start of active growth. During spring pruning, damaged, withered and weakened branches of the bush are removed.
In summer, exclusively cosmetic pruning of the plant is carried out, during which wilted inflorescences are cut.
Pruning rules
In the fall, immediately after the flowering of the shrub, it is also recommended to carry out the pruning procedure. In the autumn months, before the dormant period begins, young shoots are shortened. After trimming, 2/3 of the initial length of the shoots and 6-8 buds on each of them should remain. Excess and incorrectly growing shoots are cut off completely. Touching old branches older than 3 years is not recommended.

Winter preparations

Preparing the bush for cold wintering plays an important role in the process of growing it. Starting from mid-autumn, the plant must be prepared for the rest period. To do this, the number and abundance of irrigation is gradually reduced, and fertilizer application is completely stopped.

Leaf dropping — In the case of a complete drop of foliage in the winter season, it is not worth watering the bush until the end of hibernation.

This is due to the fact that a cool room and the absence of foliage significantly slow down the process of evaporation of moisture from the soil surface. If the bush has retained part of the foliage, then to maintain optimal substrate moisture content, one watering of 15-20 days is enough.

Diseases and Pests

The tropical beauty is quite resistant to various diseases and pests, however, improper care significantly reduces her protective functions:

The lack of iron and other nutrients in the soil leads to damage to the bush by chlorosis. You can detect the disease by the faded leaf plates of the flower. Making complex fertilizers and treating foliage with an iron chelate solution will help get rid of the disease.
Chlorosis
Stagnation of moisture in the soil can cause root rot. The plant can be saved only with the early detection of the disease, when the rot has affected only a small part of the roots. To do this, remove all rotten roots, treat the plant with antifungal drugs and completely replace the earthen substrate.
The plant may also be attacked by harmful insects such as aphids, spider mites and mealybugs. Double treatment with insecticides will relieve the plant from aphids and worms, and acaricides from spider mites.

Propagation, growing and transplanting of room bougainvillea

Indoor bougainvillea is able to reproduce in three ways: cuttings, seeds and air layers. However, most flower growers give preference to cuttings, without resorting to other methods of propagation of the bush. Growing bougainvillea from cuttings is a fairly easy and reliable method that even a beginner grower will cope with:

Propagation by cuttings is recommended in late spring or early summer.
As cuttings, segments of young semi-lignified shoots 10 cm long are used, on which at least 1 kidney remains.
Pruning cuttings
The lower leaves of the cuttings are cut off, and the rest are cut in half to reduce the area of moisture evaporation.
The cuttings must be prepared for planting in an earthen substrate. To do this, planting material is placed for several hours in a container filled with warm water, and the cut-off point is treated with coal powder and a growth stimulator.
It is recommended to root the cuttings in a soil mixture of sand and peat, taken in equal quantities.
Rooting cuttings
To create greenhouse conditions, the container with cuttings is covered with a plastic film.
A greenhouse with cuttings must be kept in a well-lit place at a temperature of at least 25 ° C.
With regular ventilation and watering, the stalk will take root after 6-8 weeks, after which it can be transplanted into a small pot for growing.
A young plant is transplanted into a constant container after its roots fill the entire space of the previous one.

Remember!

Further, the young bush needs an annual transplant, but a mature plant is best replanted every 2-4 years.

The procedure is best performed in the spring, immediately after the end of the dormant period. For planting a bush, it is better to choose small but deep containers. The diameter of each next pot should be a couple of centimeters larger than the previous one. Suitable soil for the bush can be purchased at a specialized store or mixed independently from turf, humus, sand and peat, taken in equal proportions.

Transplant Algorithm:

Well moisten the soil in the pot, for further extraction of the bush.
Fill the bottom of the new tank with a 2-4 cm wide drainage layer. Expanded clay, fine pebbles or broken brick can serve as drainage.
Drainage
Spread a layer of soil mixture over the drainage. The width of the soil substrate should be approximately equal to the drainage layer.
Priming
Carefully remove the plant from the old container and inspect its root system for diseases, trying to disturb the earthball as little as possible.
With a lump of earth, place the bush in a new pot.
Fill the void of the pot and lightly crush the soil around the flower.
Moisten the soil.

A few days after transplanting, the plant should be in the shade for faster adaptation to the new earthen substrate.

Common Growing Questions

Bougainvillea has only just begun to gain popularity among flower growers, so its reaction to certain conditions of detention is not known to everyone.

In winter, the leaves began to fall heavily, what should I do?

Dropping foliage is the normal response of a plant to a sudden change in climate. It is not worthwhile to carry out any manipulations to preserve the foliage, after a period of rest, the shrub will independently restore its green mass.

The shank received by mail from the online store, how to care?

Transportation is a big stress for bougainvillea, after which she needs rest. It is better to put the resulting stalk in partial shade and not disturb it with permutations and transplanting for at least 7-14 days.

If the soil in which the cuttings are planted is dry, then it can be moistened, but you should not be too zealous for watering. After 2 weeks, the stalk will be ready for transplanting into a new soil mixture. When transplanting the cuttings, it is better to use purchased soil.

Is pruning required for this flower?

A flower grown indoors requires compulsory pruning. The procedure not only helps to maintain and improve the decorativeness of the culture, but also significantly slows down its growth. Neglecting pruning, it will not be possible to grow a beautiful shrub capable of lush and long flowering. After all, shortening the shoots stimulates the appearance of new ones, which significantly increases the number of future inflorescences.

What method of propagation of a flower to choose for a beginner?

For beginners, it is better to give preference to propagation of bougainvillea by cuttings. It is cuttings that are considered the fastest and most reliable way of propagation.

Bougainvillea is an unpretentious indoor culture that always thanks its lush and long flowering for creating conditions close to the climate of its tropical homeland.