A wall completely covered with clusters of raspberry, white, and lilac yellow flowers is bougainvillea. Southern capricious guest with proper care pleases the owners with beauty all summer.
The origin and appearance of the bougainvillea plant
At home in South America, this tropical plant blooms 9 months a year. For the unusual shape, gardeners from different countries fell in love with him. Now it can be found in Europe, Asia and on the territory of our country.
Bougainvillea gives a special decor to the house, quickly creates flower arches
Note! The name of the plant was given in honor of the French traveler and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
Flower description
Bougainvillea liana under natural conditions with creeping branches with thorns clings to natural or artificial supports, its shoots grow in any direction.
The structure of the inflorescence is interesting: the flowers themselves are small white on a thin long leg, grouped in 2-3 pieces. Large petals, brightly colored, similar to paper, are bracts. They are located very densely and in places completely obscure the leaves.
Bougainvillea flower looks like a product of a talented needlewoman
Species and varieties
There are 18 wild species in nature. For the cultivation of bougainvillea in Russian gardens, 3 of them are acclimatized.
Beautiful bougainvillea
Her homeland is Brazil. It grows in tropical forests on rocky mountain slopes, gradually wrapping them in a dense carpet. In gardening, it is used to decorate the walls of houses, fences, arbors. The leaves are dense, covered with villi, bracts of various red shades, aging, lose their brightness. Inflorescences are similar to panicles.
Bougainvillea nude
The homeland of bare bougainvillea is Brazil, but drier regions. It differs from the “beautiful” relative by a small number of thorns. Leaves are smooth, without villi with a sharp tip. Shoots represent a full-fledged vine. Bracts in natural conditions are lilac, breeders have bred varieties of yellow, white, red, pink color.
Bougainvillea peruvian
The homeland of this species is Peru and Colombia. This bougainvillea is a slightly branched shrub with short spikes, round leaves and terry bracts, red or purple. In gardening, it is recommended to prune it intensively in order to activate the growth of side shoots and give the bush splendor.
All 3 species interbreed well, breeders develop new varieties of garden bougainvillea in spectacular shapes and colors.
Transplant after acquisition in the open ground
A tropical plant in open ground in Russia will grow on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and Crimea, subject to shelter for the winter. The most favorable vegetation temperature is +25 ° C. At +5 ° C, she is sick, and at 0 ° C dies.
In the latitude of Moscow Region for bougainvillea, cultivation and care in a winter garden and greenhouses are permissible. Another method of cultivation: in the spring it is taken out into the open air, and in the fall it is returned to the house.
What you need for landing
To make the green pet feel good, it is grown in large tubs and containers. Soil for large potted plants is purchased in gardening goods stores. The soil should be slightly alkaline. Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the tank so that the earth passes moisture and air.
Choosing the best place
A resident of the tropics loves bright sunlight, for planting they choose the south side of the site or house, protected from strong winds.
Step-by-step landing process
To plant a plant, you need to take a few simple steps:
- Drainage is poured into the container 1/3.
- Then add soil to a volume of ½.
- Put a seedling.
- Add soil, compact it.
- Abundantly watered.
Note! Experienced gardeners recommend planting several plants of different colors in 1 large container. Subsequent mixing of the shoots and the correct pruning will add charm to the plantings.
Bougainvillea of different colors in one interior adds sun and joy to the owner
Bougainvillea: how to propagate
With all the capriciousness of the plant, the solution to the problem of how to propagate bougainvillea is not difficult.
Propagation by cuttings
Cuttings of bougainvillea are carried out in the spring, when after trimming the bushes there are many shoots left. Lignified from the whole mass, they are cut into pieces of 10-15 cm, necessarily under the kidney. 3-4 healthy leaves should be present on the handle.
The prepared material is placed in the settled warm water. After a few hours, it is treated with a drug that stimulates plant growth. The lower 2 leaves are cut and placed in a mixture of peat and sand, immersed to the 2nd internode (growth points of the third leaf from the bottom). After this, the cuttings are abundantly watered and a mini-steamer is arranged, covering each stalk with a large jar or fixing covering material over them.
Note! Landing is carried out indoors at a temperature of +25 ° C.
Each subsequent day, the structure is opened, aired and sprinkled. Rooting takes place within a month, after which a new bougainvillea is taken out on the street for permanent residence.
Cuttings of bougainvillea will turn into full-fledged vines the very next season
Seed cultivation
Fruits are picked from good healthy bushes. Pods are hiding inside dried bracts. They ripen in late autumn, so the whole process goes in winter.
The soil is prepared from garden soil, sand and peat (2: 1: 1 ratio). The extracted seeds are sown in a container at a shallow depth, sprinkled with earth and lightly watered. The container is placed under the film. The optimum temperature for germination is +25 to +30 ° C. To do this, include fluorescent lamps at a height of 25 cm from the soil level.
Light watering is carried out as the soil dries with their simultaneous ventilation. Seedlings appear after 2-3 months. The backlight is left after emergence.
Note! Bougainvillea propagates by layering only with constant cultivation in open ground.
Bougainvillea: care and maintenance in the open ground
After wintering, plants are switched to street mode, at an average daily temperature above +10 ° C. Bougainvillea begins to grow actively, whips extend up to 3 m in length. The main care and maintenance of bougainvillea in open ground is timely watering and pruning.
Watering mode
Bougainvillea is watered in the garden in the mornings abundantly 2 times a week with settling water warmed up in the sun. In hot weather, leaves are sprayed daily.
With a lack of moisture, the plant sheds green leaves, with an excess and stagnation - the leaves turn yellow first, then fall off.
Note! Spraying does not affect the bracts, they are left dry.
In the period of prolonged rains and cooling, the plant is protected with a film. The optimum daily temperature for flowering is from +21 to +25.
Top dressing
Fertilize young plants once a week, more adults - once every 2 weeks with complex fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus. How to feed an adult bougainvillea for flowering, depends on what is at hand. It is best to fertilize it with a composition containing potassium, phosphorus and iron once every 2 months. Before each planting procedure, pre-watered.
Features of care during the flowering period
The first step is to trim the bougainvillea correctly:
- In spring, twigs are shortened by 10-13 cm for rapid growth of lateral shoots. The plant will become voluminous. The growth of the current year is cut off slightly, since it is he who gives new kidneys.
- In summer, drying flowers, leaves and shoots that violate the planned form are removed.
For bougainvillea in the garden, you can create special supports of the original forms of wire, willow or bamboo. Climbing shrub happy to fill them.
You can turn bougainvillea into a tree: a stalk is attached to a frame of a given shape. When it grows to the proposed crown, pinch the growth point, remove the lower side shoots completely, leaving only the upper ones. The formation of the crown of bougainvillea takes several years, until the main trunk and skeletal branches become stiff.
Plants are transplanted into a large container with a significant reduction in fresh growth.
Winter preparations
If there is a threat of night frost, the bougainvillea in a tub or container is transferred to the room, in diffused sunlight, at a temperature not exceeding +16, for example, to a warm loggia. The branches that grew last summer are cut in half.
Features of care at rest
Winter care consists of rare watering so that the roots do not dry out.
If you follow exactly the useful tips, the capricious beauty will delight the owners for at least 10 years - as much the plant lives in garden conditions.
