It is without a doubt the highlight of every bougainvillea cultivator: the breathtaking flower. When you can expect the color spectacle and how you can help a little, it actually only requires a few basic knowledge and little tricks.
When does bougainvillea bloom and how can you promote it?
Bougainvilleas bloom in light seasons with several flowering phases, depending on nutrient and water availability. A location in full sun, good drainage, regular watering and flower pot plant fertilizer promote flowering. An artificial drying phase can cause additional flowering spurts.
When the bougainvillea blooms
Bougainvillea is known to come from subtropical South America and is therefore naturally accustomed to alternating dry and rainy seasons. Apart from the light, the formation of its flowers depends largely on the amount of water it receives. If it has enough light - in our latitudes over the summer - it develops several flowering phases, which are based on the one hand on the watering and on the other hand on the general supply of nutrients.
The characteristics of the bougainvillea flower:
- several flowering phases during the light half of the year
- highly dependent on nutrient and water supply
What comes from it
You can look forward to several bursts of flowers throughout the vegetation phase. You can generally promote this through good overall plant care - mineral-rich, peat-free substrate with good drainage, e.g. with lava granules, careful watering practices and, of course, a sunny, warm location. By giving special flower pot plant fertilizer (€14.00 on Amazon) you can stimulate flowering from the fully developed vegetation phase.
Tricks for more blooms
A simple trick to bring out a flower is to drain it briefly and then water it intensively. In this way, you give the bougainvillea the illusion of a dry season and a subsequent rainy season, as it knows from its homeland. Of course, the dry phase shouldn't last too long - you have to quench the bougainvillea's thirst at the latest when the plant starts to shed its leaves.
Even by being a little stingy with the pot size, you can encourage the bougainvillea to bloom more. Instead of focusing on root formation and growth, it then concentrates more on pollination promotion - i.e. flower formation.
