Cut, fertilize and water the bougainvillea

The beautiful bougainvillea must be cared for for maximum bloom. We have valuable care tips for you and your bougainvillea.

the Bougainvillea, originally from South America, has long had a place in the hearts of many hobby gardeners. The plant is particularly popular because of its beautiful bracts, which, with the right care, thrive again and again every year. But how do you look after the exotic bougainvillea properly? We present everything you need to know, from watering, through fertilization, to cutting.

Water the bougainvillea properly

The optimal water supply for a bougainvillea is essential for growth during the summer and should not be neglected. Always keep the substrate slightly moist so that the soil never dries out completely. But don't worry: if you forget about watering for a short time or if nobody is found during your vacation, the plant won't die off immediately. Leaf loss should still be expected if the drought persists. Just like a lack of water, you should also avoid waterlogging in tropical plants to prevent root rot. During wintering, you should definitely keep watering to a minimum, otherwise it could damage the plant.

Fertilizing bougainvillea: amount, frequency and choice of fertilizer

A lack of nutrients can - as with many other potted plants - occur in bougainvillea and restrict growth and flower formation. The use of different fertilizers can therefore be quite useful. We present everything you need to know about fertilizing a bougainvillea.

How often and how much fertilize bougainvillea?

A good way to get fresh nutrients quickly is to repot the plant after it has hibernated. Commercially available peat-free potting soil is very suitable for transplanting; adding compost or compost soil also improves the soil properties. Our peat-free Plantura Organic potting soil is already enriched with all important nutrients and offers your bougainvillea optimal starting conditions.

Which fertilizer to fertilize bougainvillea with?

The use of compost and other organic fertilizers makes sense for the bougainvillea in many ways. On the one hand, it is always the more environmentally friendly variant, which also provides long-term nutrients than mineral liquid fertilizers. In addition, you cannot over-fertilize in this way and protect the plant roots from being burned by mineral salts. Also a primarily organic bio-fertilizer like ours Plantura organic flower fertilizer is a very good choice for the bougainvillea.

Cutting bougainvillea: This is how it's done

The twigs are brown and the magnificent bracts have faded - then for the hobby gardener it's time to get on with the scissors and cut the bougainvillea. It is often necessary to cut the exotic flower in order to keep it ready to flower. Therefore we explain below how the correct cropping works.

Cutting bougainvillea: when is it best to cut?

The first cut of the year should always be made directly after wintering, if the bougainvillea has not yet sprouted. Additional light pruning can be done during the year to increase the flowering rate. A final cut before wintering in autumn is also common to prepare the plant for the cold season.

Cutting bougainvillea: how to do it

When pruning the bougainvillea over the course of the year, do the following:

1. In early spring, cut down the leaves and shoots from last year so that the bougainvillea can continue to branch. Make sure that you do not cut away all of the branches, but always leave a third of the length. The colorful flowers of the exotic always grow on the new shoots of the plant, so the first cut is particularly important.
2. During the summer, shoots with faded and dried-up bracts should be cut off occasionally so that new branches can grow again. With this method, the flowering can be extended in summer and you can sometimes look forward to the splendor of the flowers until autumn.
3. A final cut should be made to the plant in autumn so that it can be overwintered without any problems. Cut the bougainvillea a little more compactly so that it does not take up too much space in the winter quarters.

How to get the Bougainvillea successfully overwintered, learn from this article.