If the decorative bougainvillea does not bloom, the reasons why this is so must be found. Because every hobby gardener wants an abundantly blooming climbing plant that covers a wall or a privacy screen with its bright pink flowers. Mostly it is due to maintenance errors that can be fixed quickly. Since the plant is not winter hardy, it should be cultivated in a tub in local latitudes, but care for tub plants should be a little more intensive.
Table of Contents
Wrong location
In the summer months, when the bougainvillea usually blooms, the plant needs the right location so that it can develop its flowers. This lush bloom of the decorative plant costs a lot of strength and energy, which it absorbs from the sun through its leaves. The ideal location in the summer months looks like this:
- full sun
- on a south side of the house
- on the south-facing terrace or balcony
- without roofing
- especially a lot of sun in spring
- promotes the sprouting of the leaves
- Already in February on sunny days outside
- turn inside again at night
- alternatively protect against frost with a cover
This allows the plant to start sprouting leaves early and gives it more time to develop flowers. If the plant is moved outside in the sun late in the year, flowering will fail.
Incorrect care in winter
Care in winter can also be crucial to failure of the bloom. The bougainvillea definitely needs frost-free winter quarters, so in the local latitudes it should always be cultivated in a container. Above all, the location in winter is decisive, as is the flowering in summer. The following conditions should be met in winter:
- bright and cool location
- a lot of light even in winter
- even if the leaves fall off
- Winter garden
- Glasshouse
- Garden shed with window
- Temperature between 5 ° and 10 ° Celsius
- from November to February / March
- then sunlight again and warmer
The bougainvillea should not be watered over the winter. Even if the surface of the earth is dry, this does not mean that the root ball does not have enough water. Waterlogging can easily occur, which can even cause the plant to die off over the winter. A moisture meter can be used to check how wet the root ball is.
Wrong fertilization
Another reason the bougainvillea does not bloom is that it lacks nutrients. As soon as the first leaves emerge, the plant needs fertilizer so that it can form buds and later also flowers. Fertilization should be carried out as follows:
- Liquid fertilizer for flowering plants
- every one to two weeks
- pay attention to the manufacturer’s instructions
- do not over-fertilize
- fertilize from March until flowering
Wrong watering
The bougainvillea is a subtropical plant that always needs enough moisture at the roots without waterlogging. The hobby gardener needs a bit of tact when it comes to watering the plant again. A moisture meter, which is inserted into the bucket and shows when the plant needs water, is also helpful here. Nevertheless, the following rules should be observed when watering to ensure abundant flowering:
- always keep moist
- Don’t let the earth get too wet
- Avoid waterlogging
- Give water every day on warm days
- on cool days only water every two or three days
- Never let the plant dry out
In the case of drought and waterlogging, which makes the earth hard, the plant has no way of absorbing water via the roots and transporting it on. If this happens over a longer period of time, not only the leaves but also the buds dry up and a flower fails.
To cut
Like any other climbing plant, the bougainvillea must also receive a regular pruning, in which above all dry and diseased shoots inside are removed. A strong cut can be made before winter, then the plant will sprout new and fresh in spring. A forgotten and not cut plant, on the other hand, becomes blooming over the years. Therefore, you should always cut as follows:
- cut back before wintering
- requires less space in winter quarters
- Shorten shoots from summer
- so that the bucket can be moved easily
- cut again in spring
- Rejuvenate the plant
- remove all dead shoots
- also cut all shoots that are too long
Conclusion
It is often due to incorrect care that the bougainvillea does not bloom. It is important that the sun-hungry plant receives enough light and warmth early in the year before the leaves shoot. Because especially in the local latitudes, flowering does not start until late in summer or autumn. If the plant is then left in its winter location for too long, the flowering can fail completely. Because first of all it has to put all its strength into the formation of the new leaves. The later these are driven out, the later and then often not at all the flower can develop.
