Bougainvillea Bonsai

Named after a French navigator, bougainvillea bonsai is a native to South America. This species belong to the Nyctaginaceae family, which is known to be a part vine and tree. This climbing plant can grow as tall as thirteen feet. You can condition this plant to grow in various styles. For instance, some people like it to grow as a hedge, while some fancy it to grow as a ground cover. It can also be growing a tree, or contained in a pot in a variety of shapes. The below description would take you to the tips you must follow so as to keep your bonsai in a good condition.

How to Care for a Bougainvillea Bonsai?

Lighting
Full sunlight is required for the plant to have an optimal growth. The right temperature for the plant is above 45 degrees. Grow the plant outdoors only if you are residing in a warm location.

Soil
Get a soil type that has good drainage. If you are growing the bougainvillea plant in a container, then lightweight and porous soil type. If organic material is added to the soil, then expect the plant to flower and fruit in a better way.

Watering
Never water log the plant. It prefers to be dry most of the time than being moist. If the soil remains continuously moist, then it wouldn't take long for the root to develop fungus and rot. So water sparsely at least every couple of days. This would help the plant to achieve an optimal growth. If your bougainvillea bonsai has a lot of foliage to support, then perhaps you can increase the watering. Remember to lessen the watering during the winters.

Feeding
By feeding I mean, the kind of fertilizer you should use for the plant. A low nitrogen fertilizer is good enough. Regarding the time, expert gardeners recommend fertilization once in the spring, and once in the fall.

Pruning
Bougainvillea bonsai is one of those plants which add to the style quotient of your house. So in order to help it maintain its beauty, pruning is imperative. When you notice the blooms to have started to fade, cut back the branches to a length shorter than what is desired. The cuts have to be sealed to prevent rot. In case you see any part of the plant rotting, cut it out completely.

Re-potting
The bougainvillea bonsai fancies being root bound as this facilitates its bloom. It is advised to re-pot the plant in early spring in every two or three years. It is important to water the soil two days prior to re-potting. This process may give a kind of shock to the plant. In response, the plant may lose some or most of its leaves. However, new growth would soon take place within a couple of weeks.

Pests
Common pests that may rob this bonsai off its beauty include caterpillars, aphids, scale, etc. So get the required insecticide or fungicide from your local plant store and help the plant keep itself from the invasion of such pests.

Various elements may interfere with the flowering of the bougainvillea bonsai. These may include exposure to low temperature, its soil being left to go dry for a long time, exposure to dark environment during shipping, etc. All these factors can cause the plant to get overly stressed and lose all its leaves. So, it is always better to take preventive steps which can minimize such things.