- Home
- Home and Garden
- Care for Bougainvillea Plant
Care for Bougainvillea Plant
- By Baresh Raymond
- Published Friday 21st 2010
- Home and Garden
- Unrated
Baresh Raymond
Baresh Raymond is a bougainvillea enthusiast… and have been gardening with bougainvillea for the better half of 15 years.As a result, I frequently write bougainvillea related articles. If you’d like to learn more about bougainvillea, you can visit my blog.
View all articles by Baresh RaymondThe Bougainvillea
plant is one
of the most popular tropical flora varieties that enhance the beauty of your
garden to a great extent. The plant bears flowers during the spring and summer
and attributes your patio or backyard with a colorful tinge. It is not very
difficult to procure wholesale
Bougainvillea from a
nursery. It is true that, this plant needs very little care but often people
misinterpret it as no care at all. Thus, the plant in most of the cases
survives somehow but become unable to bear flowers. So, here is a set of tips
for you regarding care of Bougainvillea Plant. Follow this simple rule and you
will soon have your Bougainvillea tree thriving to glory.
Soil and Water
The Bougainvillea plants
thrive well in almost any
soil, which is fertile and bears water drainage capacity. Therefore there is no
such specification for soil variety for the plant to grow well. It must be
remembered regarding growing Bougainvilleas that the plant should not ever get
completely dry in between the watering. This does not mean that you should have
water standing at the base of the plant. It is just about keeping the container
moist. Never put a saucer below the pot bearing the plant. During the warm
season the plant will drink lots of water and during cooler times that is in
winter it is better to bring the plant indoors. It is the time when the plant
won’t require much water.
The water
requirement of the plant depends on the following elements,
ü Type
of Soil
üPlant
Size
ü Root
System
üAir
Temperature
Light
If you are
looking for the best result then it is wise to place the bougainvillea
plant under full blaze of
sun. If the plant gets at least 5 hours of full sunlight a day then it will
lead to a good bloom. The more the plant will get direct sun the results will
be better. The plant thrives in shades or partial shades as well but in that
case there will be nice rate of growth but very limited bloom.
Temperature
The optimum
temperature required by bougainvilleas is 70-85 F during warm days and 60-70 F
for cooler nights. The young plants get damaged due to frost to a great extent.
Although, a light frost is not so harmful as in that case the leaves might fall
off but soon re grow after some time.
Fertilizer
Fertilizers
bearing high phosphorus and other micronutrients and certain amount of
magnesium are good for bougainvilleas. The fertilizers should have a slow or
time released action. A small amount of nutrient should always be available to
the plant, as this helps the plant to grow. If the soil is dry then do not
apply the fertilizer. Never over fertilize.
Pests
The pests that
often invade the bougainvillea
plant include mites,
caterpillars and aphids. Due to them spots appear on the foliage and the
soil often stays wet. If situation like these occur then it is better to
consult advices from the experts from the local nurseries.
