The bougainvillea is one of the climbing plants best adapted to container life. On this occasion, we are going to tell you how to grow it well in a planter, whether it is labor, plastic or another material.
So, without further ado, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about having bougainvillea in a window box; that’s to say, how to take care of itwhen to water it, etc.
How big should the planter be?
Before planting bougainvillea in a planter, you need to see if it is the right size for the plant. And it is that if we put it, for example, in a too big one, we risk drowning itbecause it would have plenty of moist soil and long contact with its roots.
For this reason, and since excess water or humidity is a very serious problem that plants struggle to overcome, we are going to plant bougainvillea in a suitable container. And what will it be? Good to know it will be necessary to see what the size of its clod or its bread of earth is: if it measures, suppose, ten centimeters high and wide, the planter should not measure more than double.
In fact, if the plant is very small, with a height of less than half a meter, it is much more advisable to keep it in a pot until its height is at least one meter, because then it will be that we can guide her to where we are interested. .
What substrate or soil should I put?
Bougainvillea is a plant which, As it is not too demanding, it can be put, for example, in universal substrate. Now it is important that it is of a certain quality; that is, it should be light and spongy in texture. I recommend buying one from a well-known and popular brand, such as Flower’s. Thus, we will make the roots grow well, and therefore the plant will develop quite normally.
In any case, you should know that as an alternative to the universal substrate we can put coconut fiber (on sale here). It is very cheap and, although it does not have many nutrients, it has other qualities that make it a highly recommended substrate. For example, it allows the roots to be well aerated, absorbs and filters water quickly, and also remains moist for a long time. You have more information in our video:
How to maintain a bougainvillea in a planter?
The care we give it will be the same as if it were in a pot. But don’t worry, if you have any doubts, we’ll explain what they are below:
Related article:
Can you have a potted bougainvillea?
Irrigation
Bougainvillea should be watered regularly. It is a plant that, as soon as the earth dries out completely, begins to lose its leaves. For this reason, it is important to avoid going to this extreme, and water it on average twice a week in summer (or more if it’s very hot and you can see that the land is very, very dry), and less the rest of the year.
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So that it grows well and lacks nothing, We will fertilize it in spring and summer with fertilizers or liquid fertilizers. For example, you can add guano, or a universal fertilizer. Of course, we can also add slow-release fertilizers from time to time, such as manure from herbivorous animals or worm humus; but I insist: once in a while, once every two months or so, since they take much longer to decompose, the bougainvilleas have more time to absorb these nutrients.
Moreover, another thing that we can never forget is that do not mix fertilizers or fertilizersotherwise the risk of overdose is very high.
Cut
When to prune bougainvillea? Well, when you have too long branches or a messy look. We will do this in the fall, and only if there are no frosts or if they are very weak. (down to -2ºC); if not, it will be done in the spring.
Related article:
How to prune potted bougainvillea
The way to do it is simply this: we will have to eliminate what is dry and cut the stems that have grown too much. And we will do it with an anvil pruner, or with a hand saw if the stem to be pruned is more than a centimeter thick.
tutor/guide
In case we are interested in having a bougainvillea as a climber, we will have to help him a little by putting a stake on him and tying him to it. It is important that this stake or guide be made of a material that is resistant to rain, sun, etc., as well as to the weight of the plant itself. This is why the use of steel stakes covered with rubber is interesting.
It must be put when the bougainvillea is at least half a meterotherwise their stems will look dangling as they cannot climb on their own as they have no tendrils.
So, as you can see, it is very easy to take care of a bougainvillea in a planter.