How to trim bougainvillea

Video: How I Prune & Trim My Bougainvillea For Maximum Bloom / Joy Us Garden

Content

Steps
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

Bougainvillea is a beautifully flowering curly shrub native to South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Peru. This tropical perennial is known for its brightly colored bracts surrounding small white flowers. Bougainvillea has received the nickname "paper flower" due to the graceful bracts of a wide variety of colors, including purple, red and orange. The beauty of this plant has led to its cultivation in warm climates throughout the world, including the southern United States. It is a valuable ornamental plant, but thorny bougainvillea shoots need regular pruning to keep them looking and healthy. Pruning bougainvillea requires knowing a few simple steps, but it will keep your tropical shrub prettier from year to year.

Steps

1 For pruning bougainvillea, prepare thick garden gloves, garden shears, and a disinfectant such as bleach or rubbing alcohol.
2 For best results, plan your main bougainvillea pruning in late spring or early summer.
3 Wipe down your garden shears with disinfectant to prevent disease from spreading to bougainvillea.
4 Begin pruning by cutting off dead, damaged, or diseased parts of the bougainvillea.
5 After pruning diseased shoots, disinfect the pruning shears before pruning to prevent infestation.
6 Remove large and obstructing branches and those branches that have been deformed during the pruning of the bougainvillea.
7 Step back to inspect the bougainvillea and continue trimming to achieve the desired shape.
8 Remove all cuttings away from the bougainvillea and surrounding area.
9 Repeat pruning as needed, or every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season to stimulate new flower formation.
10 In the intervals between regular pruning, carry out the so-called pinching, tearing off the wilted tops of the inflorescences with your fingers.
11 Fertilize the bougainvillea after pruning a lot of branches to replenish the plant's vigor.

Tips

With its powerful, flexible and sturdy branches, bougainvillea is an excellent plant for bonsai. Once you have trimmed it to the desired shape, you can maintain it later. Prune the branches regularly until you get the shape you want, then pinch off the new shoots as you do while maintaining the shape of the bonsai.
When mastering pruning bougainvillea, keep in mind that the more often you prune wilted flowers, the more new flowers will form on the plant. Pinching is quick and easy and is the best method to use between pruning with your garden shears. It can be done at any time of the year and as often as you want.
Bougainvillea is winter hardy and can withstand any type of pruning. When pruning bougainvillea, you can give it a wide variety of shapes. Cut off the lower branches to give it an interesting look, making it look like a tree.

Warnings

Don't cut the bougainvillea too short and cut it too low to the ground. This can cause flowering to stop.
Remember to remove wilted flowers. Leaving withered flowers on the plant inhibits the formation of new flowers.
Never try to trim your bougainvillea without wearing garden gloves. Thorns and thick branches can hurt your hands.