If you want to bring the colorful splendor of a bougainvillea into your gardening universe, you have to invest a little. The beauty of the Andes definitely needs some care. We will show you how to cultivate with the right care measures.

Bougainvilleans in pots in particular should be watered regularly

The basic requirements of Bougainvillea

Anyone who is toying with the idea of keeping a bougainvillea should be aware of its origin. Because as with other plants, their needs and tricks on how to best treat them result from this. Bougainvillea comes from a small region of the Andes between Ecuador and Brazil, which has a subtropical climate. It is therefore a sun worshiper, needs a lot of warmth and reacts strongly to the alternation of moisture and dryness.

The key data of the needs of bougainvillea are therefore:

  • great hunger for light
  • high heat demand
  • sensitive reaction to moisture and dryness

Requirements for successful cultivation

Enough warmth

This results in the following necessities: The bougainvillea cannot be planted outdoors in our country - our winter months are far too cold for it. In the bucket, however, you can still let them climb wonderfully over a heat-storing wall or a wooden trellis over the summer. In winter, it must be stored in good time in a winter quarters. Here it can spend its resting phase at around 5 to 15°C.

Lots of light

Brightness is another must - full sun is best for them. So it is best to place your bougainvillea in a large, south-facing window that ensures unrestricted sunlight throughout the day. Of course, a conservatory is even better. When the bougainvillea moves outside in the summer, a sunny terrace space or a south-facing balcony is ideal for them.

The right substrate

Bougainvilleas are sensitive to waterlogging. Therefore, place them in a permeable substrate made of mineral-rich potting soil, which they loosen up with lava granules (€13.99) and quartz sand (€15.85), for example. You can add a handful of horn shavings (€32.93) to the substrate to give her a permanent, slowly depleting source of nutrients.

Repot regularly

In order to achieve good growth and beautiful flowering, you should adjust the tub of your bougainvillea at regular intervals. The following applies: In order to cultivate the plant to a nice size, it needs more space for the development of its root ball. On the other hand, if she is to ignite her popular fireworks of flowers, a tight base is advantageous, as the plant then concentrates less on her growth.

So if you want to raise your bougainvillea initially, give it more space and repot it early rather than late. When she is vigorous and has the potential for a magnificent bud show, you can be more stingy with the pot size. When repotting generally caution. The root ball of the bougainvillea is not particularly robust and should be treated as gently as possible. Rough pulling and tugging is therefore taboo - then rather sacrifice the pot.

Fertilize

After hibernation, the bougainvillea enters its main vegetation phase during the light half of the year. Meanwhile, you should fertilize them regularly. At the beginning of the vegetation phase, you can strengthen the bougainvillea with a universal liquid fertilizer every one to two weeks. When she is ready to flower, a special flowering container plant fertilizer with potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen is recommended.

Pour wisely

According to its subtropical homeland with dry and rainy seasons, the bougainvillea reacts strongly to watering or lack thereof. Basically, it is important not to let them dry out. You should also avoid waterlogging.

After wintering, start watering gently

After being brought out of the winter quarters, the bougainvillea usually needs some time to sprout. Here you should not try to stimulate them by watering them excessively. When it's ready, the plant itself will show you that it's got its metabolism going by keeping its base dry.

Stimulate blooming through a dry phase

A little tip on watering practice: When the bougainvillea has reached the full vegetation phase, you can stimulate a bloom boost with a short drying phase and subsequent watering. They take advantage of the subtropical background of the plant and its adaptation to rainy and dry seasons.

cut

Bougainvillea grows fairly quickly, so regular pruning is a must. Two cuts per year are recommended - a cut back before moving into the winter home and a fine cut in the spring. The main purpose of cutting back in winter is to save space in the winter quarters - here you simply remove the long shoots.

When relocating in spring, be more careful and remove all dead, i.e. completely dry, branches. Depending on the growth (stem, bush, espalier tendril) you can also shape them gently.

pest control

Basically, the bougainvillea is fairly insensitive to pest infestation. Sometimes scale insects or mites can appear - if this happens during the vegetative phase you should not use any spray as the flowers do not tolerate it well. A remedy that you add to the irrigation water is better.

Category:

Indoor plants