Can you have a bougainvillea in a pot?

Bougainvillea is a climbing shrub that produces so many flowers that it creates a spectacle of color during spring and summer. It can reach 6-8 meters in height, so it is used to cover pergolas and ceilings. But did you know that its growth can easily be controlled by regular pruning?

It is a plant that heals well and quickly. So much so that, if you have nowhere to put it, we encourage you to have a potted bougainvillea.

What pot to choose?

La bougainvillea It is a plant that looks good in all types of pots, whether plastic or terracotta. But these two materials are so different that they each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s see what they are:

Plastic flowerpot

Advantages

• Weighs just: you can easily move around.
• It is economical: even the one measuring 40cm in diameter can cost just 4-5 euros. Although yes, if it is made of resistant plastic it will cost you around 7 euros.
• It is easy to clean: if it gets stained, just wipe it off.

Drawbacks

• It can be carried by the wind: weighing little, if we live in an area where strong wind usually blows, it could take it with it.
• With time it spoils: even if it is made of resistant plastic, in the end sooner or later it ends up spoiling.

Terracotta pot

Advantages

• It is very durable: Terracotta is a material that withstands the elements well, so it stays intact for many, many years.
• It cannot be carried away by the wind: it has the ideal weight to withstand gusts of wind.
• It is very decorative: nowadays we can find flowerpots with very elegant designs and shapes.

Drawbacks

• Your selling price is high: a 40cm pot can cost around 15-20 euros.
• If it falls, it breaks: you have to be very careful with this, as terracotta is a very resistant material but at the same time very fragile. If it falls to the ground, it will most likely break.

What are the care of the Potted Bougainvillea?

Transplant

When we have decided which pot we will use to have our bougainvillea, we will have to transplant it. For this, what we will do is the following:

1. First, we will place coffee filters in the drainage holes. This way we will avoid that the substrate is lost every time we water.
2. Next, we will place the »new» pot in the place where we want to have the plant, and we will fill it with universal growing substrate mixed with 30% perlite (for sale here!) a little less than half.
3. Then we will extract the plant from its “old” pot, and put it in the “new” one. If we see that it is too high or too low, we will remove or add substrate. To have a guide, we must know that the base of the stems should be a little below the edge of the pot.
4. Then we will finish filling with substrate.
5. Now, we water well, conscientiously.
6. Finally, we can put a tutor if we want it to climb a lattice or wall.

Bougainvillea: sun or shade?

The bugambilia or bougainvillea is a plant that prefers to have the leaves and flowers in full sun, and the rest of the stems in shade. For this reason, it is very interesting to place it, for example, on a lattice or pergola, since in this way, as it grows, it will provide the shade it needs.

In addition, it is a way to have a hanging bougainvillea, although it is not the only one: in fact, you can also put it on a tall piece of furniture and let its stems hang.

Irrigation

For our potted bougainvillea to grow well, it will be very important to water it from time to time. Frequency will vary depending on weather as well as location, but in general we will have to water every 3 days in summer and every 5-6 days the rest of the year.

In case of doubt, we will check the humidity of the substrate. For this we can do several things:

• Use a moisture meter: to make it more reliable, it is highly recommended to insert it at different points.
• Introduce a thin wooden stick: if when you take it out, it comes out practically clean, then we can water when the substrate is dry.

Subscriber

Bougainvillea needs to be fertilized during spring and summer in order to grow and flower. Therefore, during all the warm months It is highly advisable to pay with liquid fertilizers (such as this) following the indications specified on the product packaging.

Potted bougainvillea pruning

Pruning is essential when you have a bougainvillea in a pot, because not doing so could stop its growth and we could even lose it. But when and how do you prune?

To control its growth we have to wait for the end of winter and disinfect a pruning shears. When we have done this, we will observe the plant carefully, first from a distance and then closely. So we can have an idea of ​​how it is developing and which stems we have to cut or remove.

Then, we will have to prune those stems that look weak, sick or have broken. If what we want is to have a non-climbing shrub in a pot, we will cut more or less in half; in this way we will stimulate the production of low stems; and if we are interested in having a hanging bougainvillea, we will leave the longest stems.

When does bougainvillea bloom?

If you have a bougainvillea without flowers, don’t worry. If you give it the care that we recommend, it will surely bloom sooner than you think. In fact, its flowering season begins in spring and lasts until late summerso it blooms for several weeks in a row.

But if you want to help it, we recommend you fertilize it with a specific fertilizer for flowering plants, since this way it will have more energy. you can buy it here!.

With these tips, we will have a beautiful bougainvillea.