For lovers of flower ensembles in the apartment, the exotic perennial bougainvillea will be a worthy specimen. Before you acquire and grow a plant, you should learn about its preferences, nature. Experienced flower growers warn that the nature of the exotic is peculiar.
Care for him should be thorough. If you follow all the recommendations, the house will be decorated with a chic bush that blooms for 5 months a year. Many believe that the bougainvillea flower brings prosperity and wealth to its owners.
Origin history
For the first time, this plant was discovered by travelers who arrived in the subtropics of Brazil. There they saw a liana-shaped shrub with bright large petals. Later it turned out that the plant feels quite well in the tropics and subtropics around the world. Now the bush can be seen in the Russian south, in Turkey, Italy, etc.
Bougainvillea is considered one of the brightest and most positive plants.
He feels good where there is a lot of sun, and in the cold season, the temperature does not fall below + 6 ... +3 degrees. Bougainvillea home care implies thorough care. Only miniature specimens grow at home, it is difficult to grow a vine in the room.
Note! The flower got an unusual and long name from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a navigator from France. He brought a bizarre plant to his homeland. Bougainvillea immediately fell to the taste of representatives of the nobility.
Features and description of the flower
Bougainvillea is a representative of the family of dicotyledonous plants Nochaceae (Niktaginovye). This is a liana that clings to thorns with spikes and shoots and reaches up. In some cases, it is a small shrub tree.
Sheet platinum in the majority of light emerald, there are light green and variegated. They look like an elongated egg, on the tip of which there is a point. Small leaves - from 2 to 5 cm.
The trunk is strong, the trees are powerful, lignified. The bark is brownish, elastic.
The most beautiful part are bracts, which are framed by a small whitish-yellow or grayish bougainvillea flowers. It was the bracts that the discoverers of the plant took for huge flowers. Bracts are thin, graceful. None of them shows a pattern of thin veins. Bracts have a different shape: from triangular, round to heart-shaped. Because of this feature, the plant is called "paper flower".
Bicolor flower species
Bracts fascinate with colors. They can be pink, lilac, scarlet, red, cream, white. Bracts can be seen throughout the flowering period of bougainvillea. At the same time, flowers fall faster than bright "paper" petals.
Varieties of Bougainvillea
There are just over a dozen different types of thermophilic plants. The most popular are Brazilian species (naked and wonderful). Over time, a large number of different varieties were bred. Among them are:
- hybrids;
- terry;
- color changing;
- two-tone;
- with variegated leaves;
- various varieties for bonsai.
Brazilian species
Among the Brazilian species, the most famous are the mansions:
- naked bougainvillea;
- wonderful bougainvillea.
Naked - is a vine, stretching from the ground for 3-6 meters. She has a smooth, pleasant trunk. At home, the flowering period lasts more than 8-9 months.
One of the Brazilian species
Wonderful (another name - beautiful) vine with spikes grows up to 13-15 meters. Its difference is in very rapid growth. In addition, bracts change color from bright pink at the very beginning of flowering to snow-white at the end of flowering. In addition, the blooming crown can hide the entire foliage.
Additional Information. A wonderful view is considered medicinal. Parts of the plant help with coughing, sore throat, and indigestion.
Hybrids
Indoor bougainvillea in some cases are hybrids bred specifically for breeding in an apartment. They have bright bracts, miniature shapes, small spikes and the absence of lianoid signs. The following hybrids are popular:
- Sanderian;
- Boott;
- Glabra Donker;
- Donya
- White cascade.
The colors of the hybrids are different: from pale pink, golden, scarlet to snow-white and ivory.
Terry varieties
These varieties are characterized by increased density of stipules. The flowering part of the plants resembles voluminous air bright clouds. For example, this is bougainvillea double gold. Popular representatives of terry varieties:
- Lilarouz. Differs in unpretentiousness. Its stipules can be salmon, flamingo, violet.
- Double pink. On the grounds of stipules, greenish tones can be seen.
- Double ed. Differs in saturated red color of petals.
Terry representative
- Don Mario. A charming variety with petals in Bordeaux.
Color changing
Unusual varieties include:
- Bois De Roses;
- Vera;
- Thai Gold.
The first variety changes the color of stipules from orange to flaming. The second grade is from raspberry to cream. The third is from golden to rosy pink.
Two-tone varieties
These are also unusually beautiful flowers. Among the famous - Strawberry Lace, Snowcap Multi. The flower cloud of varieties consists of deep pink and snow.
Variegated
The house will be decorated with bougainvilleas with variegated sheet plates. The leaves of these varieties have an emerald color, which is adjacent to the yellow-gray, whitish. These varieties include:
- Delta Dawn;
- San Diego Red Variegata;
- Raspberry Ice
Variegated specimen
Varieties for Bonsai
Evergreen varieties are suitable for ancient Chinese bonsai art:
- Spectabilis;
- Speciosa;
- Mini-tai.
Transplant after purchase
Bougainvillea care and maintenance begin with competent work after the acquisition. After the store, a bright shrub cannot be immediately put on a windowsill or put in the garden next to other plants. It must be quarantined 10 days. To do this, they clean it in a separate place where at least + 23 ... +25 degrees and enough light. After this period, the plant is transplanted.
What needs to be prepared
The owner of the bougainvillea is required to prepare:
- pot;
- soil mixture;
- drainage;
- support.
Pot
For transplantation, you should buy a not too voluminous, but high pot. Its size should ideally fit the root system of the flower. Before choosing a pot, you should know how bougainvillea grows and how much. The plant grows for at least 8-10 years. Its root system is increasing every year. Therefore, transplants should be performed at least 1 time in 12 months.
Important! If you buy too large a container, water will stagnate there, and the plant may become ill.
Soil mix
The soil is light, but mixed with loam, coals. It should be a mixture of garden soil with light additives.
Drainage
As a drainage fit bark, pebbles, embers, polystyrene.
Support
A peg, a stalk, a knitting needle can become a support.
New residence
Best of all, bougainvillea will feel on the sunny side of the house. She needs direct sunlight for at least 12 hours a day. No need to worry about burns - a tropical resident loves the sun. The main thing is that there are no drafts. Wind and drafts are enemies of a bizarre plant.
The pot should not be too bulky
A new place should be for a pot with a mini-tree house for a long time. Since among other things, bougainvillea, care implies only in one place. Rearrangements adversely affect her condition.
Transplant Walkthrough
When everything you need is prepared, the place to install the beauty is selected, you can go directly to the transplant:
- First, the soil mixture is prepared.
- After that, a drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the pot. It should be about 1-2 cm.
- If the pot is tall, then the bottom is filled with soil.
- Landing is fast. A root with a lump of earth is taken out of the old pot. He sinks into a new pot.
- The voids are filled with earth.
- Pay attention to the root neck. To root it is allowed shallow. It is enough to deepen by 1 cm.
- Do not compact the soil. The earth must be loose.
Note! In open ground, the planted plant is extremely rare and only in the southern regions. In the middle, central, northern part of Russia, this bougainvillea cultivation and care implies only in an apartment.
Breeding
Bougainvillea reproduction involves several species. The simplest is considered to be cuttings. The most laborious is the seed method.
Cuttings
It is necessary to take a stalk from 8 to 12 cm long. It is cut off from an adult plant, which is at least 4-6 years old. For 10 hours, the kidney stick is placed in a growth stimulator. After planted in a pot with loose air soil and cover with a bag. After 30 days, the plant should take root.
First, the cuttings are soaked in a stimulator, then they are planted in the soil
Seed
Propagate a bright flower is allowed by seeds. To do this, the seeds are soaked in a growth stimulator, then planted in the ground. An important condition is that the container must be heated from below so that the seeds feel comfortable. Only after 50-80 days it will be possible to see seedlings. Seeds of bougainvillea can multiply, but flower growers rarely resort to this method.
Care Tips
Bougainvillea care and maintenance in the apartment implies special. In addition to protection against drafts, worthy of coverage, you must not forget about such moments as:
- watering;
- top dressing;
- care during flowering;
- care at rest;
- preparatory measures for the winter.
Watering
Watering is carried out with settled water once every 10 days. Moisture stagnation should not be allowed.
Top dressing
It is impossible to grow a flower healthy without fertilizing. Complex mixtures for petunias are suitable. Fertilize should be during the growth period.
During flowering
During flowering, complex mixtures with an iron content are added every 1-2 months. Why is bougainvillea not blooming? There are many answers to this question. Perhaps the plant is cold or lacking light.
During flowering, the plant needs fertilizing, watering
Rest Care
Peace lasts for 4-6 months. At this time, it is also important to care for the plant. It should be shaded and watered no more than 1 time in 30 days.
Winter preparations
Preparatory measures consist only in transferring the flower to a room where the temperature is from +8 to +16 degrees. The best place for him is a warm loggia. Do not leave a flower overwintering at the battery.
Different varieties of bougainvillea cultivation does not mean very difficult, but without the help of a person she can’t survive in an apartment. Therefore, the owner should monitor the state of exotics and be aware of its cycles (flowering, dormancy).
