If you are looking for a bright and colorful alternative to traditional roses or ivy, bougainvillea is the specimen you are looking for. This beautiful shrub native to Brazil produces beautiful pink, white, yellow, salmon, red or purple flowers on thorny branches that can reach 8 meters in height. It is a spectacular bush, especially in the warmer months when it displays amazing blooms. In this case, we will focus on supporting the yellow bougainvillea.
We will explain to you step by step how to take care of the yellow bougainvillea to enjoy this plant of the highest quality.
Contents
main Features
This is one of the ultimate summer gifts. Bougainvillea is a climbing plant and as summer rolls around it becomes truly feminine. A majestic flowering plant that begins to give off its magnificent beauty as the warmer months approach.
However, to enjoy this wonderful plant, it is important to know how to take care of it. Some are amazing and breaking the myth that bougainvillea is a shrub with delicate flowers.
It is important to know what you really need and what could be your flourishing enemy. And, before continuing, let’s be clear: those colors that we see in green leaves are not real flowers, but the bracts that protect real flowers.
This climbing bush it can reach 8 meters in height and is very resistant, which makes it a very easy plant to grow. When we talk about bougainvillea flowers, we’re really referring to its bracts, the bright pink parts that almost completely cover the plant in spring and summer (or another color that contrasts with the green of the true leaves). Its actual flowers are yellow or white and so small that they are barely visible from a distance.
Its great strength makes it easy to cure from pruning, so it can be grown in smaller pots without a problem. Its reputation as a delicate plant is totally unworthy, and although to keep it in the best condition, it is best to know the basics of bougainvillea maintenance.
Yellow bougainvillea care
With curiosity, bougainvillea is a plant that adapts well to hot summers and cold winters. Although its origin is clearly tropical (from Brazil), the truth is that we can enjoy this blooming flower year after year if we know how to protect it from one of its main enemies Shrubs: Lower temperatures nights typical of the winter months.
If we live in a temperate climate (no frost in winter), we can not only enjoy it outdoors all the time, we can even enjoy it constantly among the flowers. However, if we live in a place where the temperature varies a lot between summer and winter, we will have to take some precautions. Although it is not as cold as it looks (depending on the variety it can withstand between 3 and 7 degrees below zero), if we keep it in a pot, it is ideal to hide it in winter.
If we plant it directly in the ground, we can cover it directly with a warm garden blanket during the harsher months to prevent the cold from killing it.
We have reached a delicate point in the bougainvillea since where we grow it is crucial. Although it is a flowering plant that could even be described as a field plant, this climbing shrub does not tolerate transplants well. Its roots are delicate, and once you are at home, it is important to decide whether to let it grow in a pot (a good pruning is recommended, because depending on the cultivar it can surprise us by growing with it) or replant it directly in the ground with tips for as long as possible.
When deciding on the second option, we must be full of expectations: bougainvilleas planted directly in the ground can reach a height of 10 meters.
Some requirements
Neither demanding nor difficult to cultivate. Indeed, it is intriguing to discover that the yellow bougainvillea is a climbing plant accustomed to living in poor soil. Also, unlike many other flowering shrubs, it does not tolerate excess fertilizer well when planted directly in garden soil. And, logically, if you do it in a pot, neither (although in summer and spring you will need liquid fertilizer for your plants every 15 days).
Previously, when we said that it could almost be classified as a field plant, we were referring not only to its low need for nutrient-rich soil, but also due to its low need for water. Although in winter it is ideal to irrigate with rainwater, or to let it rest indoors, in summer it is not too demanding: if planted directly in the ground, a weekly watering is enough, if it is in a pot, watering several times a week is enough. For these irrigations, it is best to avoid wetting the leaves and focus only on moisturizing the roots.
It needs light, but it is important that it receives as much light as possible (indoors and outdoors, either in pots or in the ground). Only then can we appreciate those yellow bracts. Only in this way can we enjoy a climbing plant that does not require much and is a real gift for the eyes.
Soil and fertilizer for yellow bougainvillea
This plant is adapted to nutrient-poor soils, so it does not require us to enrich its soil with a lot of organic matter. In fact, if planted outdoors, it won’t work if we pay too much. On the other hand, in pots, its needs will increase, and like all plants, it will like the availability of fertilizer, and if it is liquid, better every two weeks in the hottest months.
For substrate mixes or soils, the only thing to look for is soil with good drainage to avoid occasional waterlogging, which is not good for the plant. Yellow bougainvillea in winter does not require any fertilizer.
Regarding the frequency of watering bougainvillea, we find that the plants here are just as undemanding as the soil. The bougainvillea does not require much watering: in spring and summer it is usually enough to water once a week in the garden, or every 3-4 days in a pot. In winter, it is best to let it draw its own rainwater, or at least give it enough room for irrigation. It is important to avoid wetting the leaves when watering, the emphasis is on the fact that the soil or substrate is the one that receives the water.
Hopefully, with this information, you can learn more about yellow bougainvillea and its care.