As beautiful as they are the in garden or landscape, getting blooms on bougainvillea can be a difficult task because of the way most gardeners think about their plants.
Plants, after all, need careful, dedicated care, so no flowers on bougainvillea must mean that they're not getting enough food, water, or light. Shouldn't it? A bougainvillea not blooming is a problem that's easy to overcome, provided you think differently about your plants.
How to Get Bougainvillea to Flower
“Why doesn't my bougainvillea bloom?” It's a common question that growers everywhere ask about the gorgeous plants they brought home from the nursery, when they find the blooms stop coming shortly after the plant landed in its new spot in the garden.
The problem with bougainvillea is that they're tough plants, hardy to the point of almost being weeds. That being said, they need to be cared for like weeds if you're to find success with them. They need to be neglected to within an inch of their lives.
There are several errors that growers tend to make that interfere with bougainvillea flower formation, including:
Overwatering
Being the hardy plants they are, bougainvillea don't need much water. Like cactus, your bougainvillea is actually native to very arid conditions so water it only when the top 2 inches (5 cm.) of the soil feels dry to the touch. More than that and you'll encourage root rot and discourage blooms.
Overfeeding
When you find your bougainvillea has lots of gorgeous green growth and no blooms, it's probably because of an excessive amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Like other plants, too much nitrogen encourages bougainvillea to add lots of vegetative parts like leaves and stems at the expense of buds. If you want blooms and your plant looks healthy, focus your efforts on supplementing phosphate and potassium, adding nitrogen only when your plant's leaves start to look slightly less green than usual.
Over Pruning
Heavy pruning of bougainvillea will seriously reduce the amount of blooms your bougainvillea produces, so if you must trim, do so carefully. It's recommended that you only trim right after a bloom if you trim at all. Again, being wild plants, pruning isn't really in their plans, so if you're trimming just to keep your plant small, you might as well replace it with a dwarf variety.
Repotting
Again, your bougainvillea thrives on neglect, including being allowed to become root bound. This is why landscape bougainvillea often doesn't bloom as rigorously or as frequently as those planted in pots. Some growers choose to plant their bougainvilleas in pots buried in the ground, which works to marry the concept of root binding with landscape integration.
-
Bold & Beautiful Festive Bloomers: 6 Christmas Flowering Plants For A Big Holiday Buzz‘Tis the season for celebration and easy living, so make sure your plants are up to it. These dynamic Christmas flowering plants will help you see out the season in style
-
9 Thoughtful Stocking Stuffers For Gardeners – That They’ll Actually UseStocking stuffers often end up an after-thought, but not these! Explore expert-curated stocking stuffers for gardeners that they'll use for years to come.
-
Bougainvillea Is A Different Color: Why Did My Bougainvillea Turn ColorsA color-changing bougainvillea in your garden may be a neat trick, but what does this mean, and can you do anything about it? Learn more here.
-
Mini Bougainvillea Care: How To Grow A Dwarf Bougainvillea PlantIf you love bougainvillea but don’t want a huge, out-of-control vine rambling amok, try growing miniature or dwarf bougainvilleas. What’s a mini bougainvillea? There are several varieties that, with pruning, can be grown as a low growing shrub. Learn more here.
-
Creating Bougainvillea Bonsai Plants: How To Make A Bougainvillea Bonsai TreeMeet bonsai bougainvillea plants, bite-sized versions of this mighty vine that you can keep in your living room. Can you make a bonsai out of bougainvillea? You can. Click here for info on how to make a bougainvillea bonsai and tips on bonsai bougainvillea care.
-
Bougainvillea Pruning: When Should I Prune A BougainvilleaWhether grown as an indoor or outdoor tropical vine, pruning a bougainvillea may seem like a daunting task, especially if you have the more common thorny types. Click on the article that follows to learn how to prune bougainvillea.
-
Bougainvillea Winter Care: What To Do With A Bougainvillea In WinterIn warm regions, bougainvillea blooms almost year-round and thrives outdoors. However, northern gardeners will have a bit more work to keep this plant alive and happy during winter. This article will help with tips on providing good bougainvillea winter care.
-
Bougainvillea Care – How To Grow A Bougainvillea In The GardenGrowing bougainvillea in gardens requires some effort, but many think that these tropical and subtropical woody vines are worth it. Click this article for information about how to grow a bougainvillea plant in the garden landscape.
-
Propagation Of Bougainvillea – Learn How To Propagate Bougainvillea PlantsHow do you go about propagating bougainvillea seeds and cuttings? Click on the following article to learn more about bougainvillea propagation methods, including growing bougainvillea from a cutting and seeds.
-
Bougainvillea Blooms Are Falling Off: Reasons For Bougainvillea Flower DropIf your bougainvillea blooms are falling off, the odds are that the plant is not getting one of these critical elements: sun and water. Blossoms also suffer from frost. Learn more details about why flowers drop off bougainvillea plants in this article.
