Native to South America, bougainvillea also grows in our territory, generally on the coast and in the south. You can also grow this plant on the balcony of your house, thus protecting it from the cold and frost of winter. This brightly flowered plant can also be grown in pots – find out when it blooms and how to get it to climb onto a stand. Bougainvillea, also known as bougainvillea or bougainvillea, is a beautiful climbing plant that you can use to cover fence walls or form a beautiful hedge with flowers, but the good news is that you can also grow it in pots and have it on the balcony. Its name was chosen in 1768 in honor of the French explorer and admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who discovered this plant of the Nyctaginaceae family in Brazil. It is an evergreen plant that blooms in the brightest colors, from pink to fuchsia, from magenta to purple, red, and orange. There are more than 300 varieties, many of which are the result of hybridizations or spontaneous mutations. If you are from South America, you can imagine that bougainvillea is a plant that thrives in the sun, in a fairly warm climate: therefore, you have to take more care of it in winter so that it survives the low temperatures, and you can do it with the tips that I am going to give you.
How to Grow Bougainvillea in Pots
As I told you before, the bougainvillea climbing habit is an ideal plant for climbing on pergolas or creating hedges, but there are certain varieties, especially shrubs, that are also suitable for growing in pots and are therefore perfect for adding a splash of color to your balcony. Let’s look at the most important tips for the care of these plants. Bougainvillea can be grown by seed, transplanting the seedling or by cutting, that is, you can start growing bougainvillea in pots with a small branch of about ten centimeters. Once you have found the most suitable mother plant for this farm, remove a branch and immediately place it in a pot with soil made of a mixture of sand and peat, which is well permeable and has a soil of clay balls: this is because bougainvillea fears stagnation, which usually leads to root rot. As I said, bougainvillea has a climbing habit, but to get it to climb, you will have to help it a little by planting it near the structure on which it will grow and wrapping it around it so that it continues to develop on the support. The best exposure for bougainvillea is in the sun. On the other hand, this plant is native to the tropical belt, which is characterized by a temperate and warm climate. It can therefore tolerate temperatures even above 40°C (in Italy the plant is widespread in the south and on the coast), while it must be protected in winter, when temperatures tend to drop below 10°C, and above all protected from colder winds.
When does it bloom?
It takes at least 3 weeks for the plant to develop roots and move to a permanent location, a larger pot, or a garden. Pruning, as well as sowing or possible transplanting, are operations that should be carried out in spring, when the weather conditions are more suitable to support the life cycle of this plant.
Bougainvillea care: watering, fertilizing, pruning
Although bougainvillea tolerates long periods of drought well, regular watering is essential for the correct development of the plant, especially in summer when we are in full vegetative activity. Just be careful to avoid standing water, which can cause root rot or suffocate the plant. How can you notice it? Make sure the bougainvillea blooms and doesn’t start losing its leaves. Bougainvillea needs fertile, well-drained soil, little limestone, and good moisture. As a fertilizer, choose an organic product that is specially designed for flowering plants and is well supplied with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace minerals. The solution is to buy a liquid product in specialized stores and nurseries, diluted and administered every two or three weeks in the water used for irrigation. Precisely because of its summer flowering, the plant is usually pruned at the end of winter, in February. In this way, it is possible to thin the foliage by removing dry branches and encouraging the growth of stronger branches and new leaves on the plant. Bougainvillea suffers a lot from the cold and especially from winter frosts. If you’re growing bougainvillea in pots, be sure to remove any dry branches and cut off the tops to give it a regular shape; Otherwise, if the plant is in the middle of the ground, i.e. lying on a pergola or climbing plant, you will need to cut the weakest or irregular branches to about a third of their length, with slightly oblique cuts compared to the branches themselves.
Where to put it in winter?
Although bougainvillea is a plant that can tolerate colder temperatures, it should be protected in winter, when temperatures tend to drop below 10°C, and especially protect itself from colder winds.
Pests and diseases
Rustic and hardy, bougainvillea fears attack by aphids, parasites that feed by sucking sap from plants and reducing growth. If aphids release the mosaic virus, which causes leaf spots and yellowing, there is a risk that the plant will no longer bloom and wilt. Not only that. The presence of aphids determines the presence of honeydew, a sugary substance that attracts ants and can cause mold to form. Attack by host families can be effectively countered by using a broad-spectrum insecticide, which can also be useful against mealybugs, other insects that feed on plant sap and damage plant growth.
