The long-awaited winter season is finally here in our hand and the Christmas bells have already started to jingle. But, this festive season is not only the best time for your favorite bougainvillea planters! Why so?
Well, it’s a tropical plant that grows all year round and survives in drought quite well. However, what it can’t survive is the chilly winter season too. The fibrous root system of this bougianvillea plan tends to freeze and kill the plant when temperatures stay lower for a long time.
That doesn’t mean you cannot make a bougainvillea plant thrive during the winters! With a little elbow grease and the right winter protection, your favorite vine will stay safe become healthy and flourish.
Keeping that in mind, let’s explore this potted bougainvillea winter care guide and see how to properly you can care for your beautiful blooms throughout the harsh winter season as well.
Potted Bougainvillea – Winter Care Top Tips
So, first of all, if you’ve planted the bougainvillea plant in your backyard its not right place, you might have to dig it up, transfer it to a container, and bring it indoors. That’s the most crucial step, which will ensure that your favorite plant doesn’t succumb to the freezing weather!
But before shifting it to a pot, here are some things for you to remember-
- Prune it properly:
- Bougainvillea is a vine plant at the end of the day! So, it will have a faster growth rate. So, when you are shifting it to container, make sure to prune it to the right size so that your interiors don’t resemble a nursery!
- Make sure the container is larger than the diameter of the roots:
- Make sure that the chosen container diameter is at least 5 cm larger than the root ball of the plant. This gap help the roots some space to breathe and keeps your plant healthy.
Both of these serve as the ultimate bougainvillea winter protection shields and help safeguard your plant effectively.
- Be Mindful While Watering
- Bougainvillea plants might require deep and frequent watering at first planted time. However, once they start blooming, they become drought-tolerant!
- Keep in mind that But the plants also can’t survive on soggy soil. So, don’t water it too much during the winter time. Also, make sure to water it in the early hours of the day so that the soil doesn’t remain soggy overnight.
- More over overwatering might also cause root rot, for which you need to stay extra careful!
- No Fertilizers for the Winter!
- Fertilizers are good source for plant food, but remember its not every time. Especially, if you’re planning to save your bougainvillea, don’t add fertilizer to the soil in the winter time.
- Potted plants tend to accumulate salts from fertilizers, which may cause root burn and kill the whole plant! So, keep in mind to flush the container a few days after potting it to avoid this situation.
- Also, avoid using nitrogen-based fertilizers. Instead, pick the organic ones and those that are particularly labelled for bougainvillea. These come packed with the ideal nutrient ratio that encourages growth.
- Don’t cut off sunlight exposure totally
- Usually, the ideal place to keep your potted bougainvillea is in a cool place, but putting in dry area that doesn’t freeze. The basement, or the garage, is therefore one of the best places for it. However, don’t cut off sunlight exposure totally.
- Keep it beside a window where it can still get natural light, even for a few hours of the day. This bougainvillea winter care process is sure to help your favorite blooms thrive.
- Beware of Pest Issues
Aphids, mealybugs, etc., are some of the most common insects that you can see around in your bougainvillea plant. If you’ve spotted them, dont have no mercy! These insects can disrupt the growth of the plant.
Make use of insecticidal soap to get rid of nutrient-sucking aphids. On top of that, if you spot mealybugs, just prune the affected areas to get rid of them.
Note: Just so you think that this isn’t enough, here’s a detailed bougainvillea winter care guide that walks you through every step of the process.
Wrapping Up
The best thing about bougainvillea is that it is a perennial plant. Therefore, if you manage to take care of it during the winters, it will again shower you with its blossoms the following Spring!
So, don’t stress out. Follow this ultimate bougainvillea winter care guide, and enjoy a spectacular floral display soon!Also, if you want to share more gardening tips like this, send your blogs under the gardening write for us category and win a chance to get featured by Home Improvement Ideaz.
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