Loving bougainvilleas is not difficult - their blooms simply have an uncanny appeal. Who wouldn't want more of that? Propagating bougainvillea isn't easy - we'll show you how it can still be done.
How to successfully propagate a bougainvillea?
Two methods are suitable for propagating bougainvillea: the cutting method and the shoot method. With both methods, a he althy shoot is removed from the plant and placed in potting soil. Patience and constant warmth are crucial for the success of propagation.
Two methods – two chances
To propagate a bougainvillea, two main methods are recommended:
- The cutting method and
- The shoot tray
However, both require some skill, tools and, above all, patience.
The cutting method
This variant is really not that easy. For all steps you need a certain amount of skill, maybe even a little luck. For the cutting, cut off a mature but not yet woody shoot from early spring to summer. This should be around 30 cm long. The biggest challenge and test of patience is the rooting. This requires a lot of warmth from below and usually hormonal support.
It is best to place the cutting in a mini greenhouse (€239.00 on Amazon) ora growing bed – ideally with underfloor heating. You can also try using a seed tray with a Styrofoam plate underneath if it is otherwise very warm in the growing room. However, the ground temperature should be around 30 to 35°C. If you don't have a mini greenhouse available, make one yourself by covering the cuttings with foil. This ensures a constant, warm, moist microclimate.
You should ideally stimulate rooting with hormonal rooting powder. However, you usually have to be patient for several months until the cutting takes root. Then immediately put it in a pot and harden it by changing environmental conditions - that means: gradually get the cutting used to lower and warmer temperatures and sometimes make it a little brighter and sometimes a little darker. This way it can grow into a strong new plant.
The cuttings method at a glance:
- cut off mature, non-woody, 30 cm shoots in spring
- place in growing bed under foil/mini greenhouse with floor heating (soil temperature 30-35°C)
- help with rooting powder
- transplant and harden rooted cutting
The shoot tray
A slightly simpler method is shoot placement. To do this, remove a he althy, non-woody tendril from the plant - even in spring - and place it in an arch with the shoot head facing upwards again in a pot with potting soil. To ensure that the curved part of the shoot stays in the ground, you can fix it with a metal hook, such as a tent peg. It is best to stabilize the above-ground part of the shoot with a support in the form of a bamboo stick.
Once you have laid and aligned the shoot, just keep it evenly moist. Rooting also takes some time here, but can be accelerated by making a wound cut. To do this, score the underside of the sunken shoot arch with a knife.
With this method, it is advisable to plant several shoots at once - this will increase your chance of success.
The shoot placement method at a glance:
- drain he althy shoots from plant into pot with potting soil
- score the shoot arch to be sunk at the bottom and fix it in place
- Align the above-ground shoot upwards with a rod
- keep moist
