Content

• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Choose an open, well-drained soil area. Bougainvillea doesn't do well in places where soil contains too much water, so make sure the soil is well drained. They need a nutrient-rich soil that is slightly acidic, and has a pH between 5.5 and 6.0.

• Add more limestone to the soil to increase the pH or add sulfur to lower the pH when needed.
• If you plan to plant bougainvillea flowers in pots, choose a soil mix with the right pH.

Water just enough. Provide an adequate amount of water to keep the soil moist, but not so much that the plant is waterlogged.

Bring confetti indoors in winter. If you live in a cold climate in winter and you plant bougainvillea in pots, bring it indoors when winter comes. If you leave the flower pot outside it will not survive the inclement weather.

Prune confetti. Bougainvillea is a flowering plant that needs proper pruning to stimulate blooming and keep the plant beautiful. After the confetti is over, cut it a few inches. This will promote healthy plant growth next spring.

• Wear gloves when pruning confetti. Some people may experience a skin rash from pruning confetti similar to touching ivy.

Bending and posing confetti. Bougainvillea plants need support to cover walls, fences and other places. If you like the tree to grow with a firm stance in one place, you can hang parallel rows of metal wire against the wall or fence that you want the tree to cover. Bend the confetti branches and direct it to the back of these metal wires. Observe growth and corrections as needed until confetti begins to spread against walls and other surfaces. advertisement

Advice

• Avoid over watering the bougainvillea, this will interfere with flowering and worse cause root rot, damaging the plant.
• In general, bougainvillea flowers are relatively less susceptible to pests and diseases. Moths, bed bugs and moths can be a problem.

Warning

• Wear gloves and long sleeves when pruning confetti.

What you need

• Fertilizers have a high percentage of phosphates.