Pruning a bougainvillea is a project best not done in a bikini! Use long-handled loppers when trimming inside bougainvilleas, particularly dense ones, for added protection against injury. Just out of curiosity have you got an updated photo of the bougainvillea you pruned in this video? Bougainvilleas require a trellis or pillar for support and can be trained as a standard and spur-pruned to restrict size. You will be required to prune leaves, branches and roots. There was very little flowering action taking place & it was growing above the roof & into the walkway. Stand on a stable surface, keep the cord behind you and the blades facing away from you when using hedge trimmers. This was my Bougainvillea glabra in Santa Barbara, a real flowering machine for 9 months out of the year. Hi I have a massive bougainvillea at a house I just bought that looks like it hasn’t been pruned in years. I purchased a bourganvillia a few months ago. Hard-pruning bougainvillea vines before every winter will promote growth when spring starts, especially if taking them inside. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a51d6e9881b33c87ecc652155e147f90" );document.getElementById("ec38a79989").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Hi, I’m Nell, and this is where I celebrate all things garden and share my passion for plants, flowers and the great outdoors. Use pruning shears to cut back bougainvillea plants using the “hard pinch” technique immediately prior to moving them indoors if you live in a cold climate. You can find more houseplant info in my simple and easy to digest houseplant care guide: Keep Your Houseplants Alive. The hard pruning that I do in late January or into February is the big one that sets the shape this plant will be for the rest of the year. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. What wrong with bougainvillea I have 21 of them I prune them all the time and they are lovely bushy shrubs, if you keep pruning them a little at a time and stop when you see the bracts changing colour, they dont seems to get thorns.I would make sure there was room between the fence and the vine so that any passerby dosn't get caught up on anything. Bougainvilleas need it as they’re vigorous growers. Away they go. Happy gardening & thanks for stopping by. I prune away whole branches, taking them all the way back to a main branch or the trunk. I used my trusty & beloved Felco #2’s (they’ve been my go to hand pruner for over 25 years now!) There are 2 branches framing the window which I still need to attach but I’m missing the hardware. Thank you for helping us spread the word & make the world a more beautiful place! 1 Mix together 1 part bleach and 9 … He lives in Europe where he bakes with wild yeast, milks goats for cheese and prepares for the Court of Master Sommeliers level II exam. The roots do get tougher as the plant gets older, but be sure to be careful in removing the tree from it’s old pot. Pruning a Container Bougainvillea. It’s hard to get a perspective when your nose is in the plant! In my opinion, any of the ones which have more of a finer, pointed tip. Tip pruning, which I do when the fancy strike me, is key to that dense show of color. Pruning and training. It looked really healthy, then we had a very cold spell and possibly a frost, the leaves dropped and so did the blooms. You won’t see much growth until late next winter/early spring. Here’s the bottom line with bougainvilleas: they bloom on growth so more pruning and pinching = more flowering. Bougainvilleas grow vigorously, providing a tropical pop of color that stands out in nearly any yard. Apr 5, 2018 - An overgrown bougainvillea needed a hard pruning. Shear the side of the hedge, making short, vertical cuts at an inward angle to form a cone shape. If you’re new to the world of bougainvillea pruning I have a word of warning: they have thorns, some species and varieties fiercer than others. © 2020 Joy Us Garden | Care, Propagation, and Pruning About | Contact | PRIVACY POLICYDesign By Viva la Violet, Mother Nature Inspired Christmas Ornaments, « 9 Ideas On How To Nourish Your Soil Naturally, Updating A Decorative Plant Pot With Painting ». Hard pruning during the dormant season helps ensure your bougainvilleas produce healthy new growth each year. I used hand-pruners and loppers to prune all of my shrubs. Play. I just saw your comment about So Cal; thank you for that. This gives you an idea of what my bougainvillea (on the left in front of the chimney) looked like when I moved into the house. Even though this bougainvillea was in the process of going deciduous at the time this pic was taken, the foliage had never looked all that great. Hi Soraya – I just gave that bougainvillea the end of season pruning a few weeks ago. Bougainvilleas produce their flower bracts or “bloom” on new growth. Maggie, Hi Maggie – Always dilute the fertilizer to half its strength before use. I cut it back to about 9′ tall. This shelters the lower branches from sun and rain, promoting weak growth. To create a cube shape, position the blades at the bottom of the hedge and trim the branches back 1/2 inch at a time, using short, sweeping vertical cuts. I do the pruning when the evenings start to warm a bit – you don’t want to do it if there’s any danger of below freezing temperatures (especially for a period of more than 3 nights) on the horizon. What shall I do , consider it dead or wait to see if anything comes of it? Bougainvillea can technically be pruned at any time of the year, but the best time to do so for the integrity of the plant is in very early spring, before the plant has begun to produce buds for new flowers. I trained my bougainvillea up & over my in Santa Barbara which took 2 years. Required fields are marked *. It was originally the height of the roof. Just left you an answer on your previous comment. would back again but I’ve lost sleep over whether it’ll recover. The main stem is green inside but the old shoots are like sticks. Family Nyctaginaceae (Four-o'clock Family), University of Arizona: Pruning: Pruning Hedges, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension: Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Frequent or at least annual pruning is important to encourage new growth that will produce the colorful bracts. Trim back the bougainvillea’s new growth to the first healthy bud to encourage bushy, broad growth in the following season. Currently Reading. Nell. I’m tickled pink to have you here! – To keep the bougainvillea below the roof line & out of the eaves & walkway. Every time I move the ladder I also step back to make sure all’s going well. As bougainvillea has thorns, it is important to wear strong garden gloves and take a bit of extra care at planting and pruning time. Hard pruning during the dormant season helps ensure your bougainvilleas produce healthy new growth each year. Basic Bougainvillea facts. Your email address will not be published. A bougainvillea grown in a container should be hard pinched in the fall back to the edges of the container. Maggie, Hi again Thanks for the tips. With a bit of pruning, bougainvillea can be trained as a bush, a climbing vine, a tree, a bonsai or to trail over the sides of a hanging basket. Some bougainvilleas grow more vigorously & faster than others. Note: Occasional application of Epsom salt also helps the bougainvillea plant. If you want the tree to flower, don't pinch and trim it too much in summer. Wear gloves and maybe even long sleeves. I live just outside Malaga Spain. Prune in early spring. Alternate between all four sides of the hedge. Nell, Hi Nell Early in the season, bend and tie in young strong-growing laterals to check the vigour and stimulate bract formation If you wait until the buds have formed, you'll cut off the new growth and limit flower production. If you are re-potting a young plant, take extra care as the roots will be fine and brittle. Mix together 1 part bleach and 9 parts water and soak the blades of the bypass hand pruners and loppers for 30 minutes. In zone 9-11 landscapes, late winter/early spring is the best time for bougainvillea pruning. If the entire branch is compromised, remove it at a 45-degree angle at the branch collar. Name – Bougainvillea Family – Nyctaginaceae Type – climbing shrub. Use your index finger and thumb to pinch off the top 1/2 inch of new … Overgrown bougainvillea. , 2018 - an overgrown bougainvillea specimens that range in color, size and hardiness a pruning. Sun and rain, promoting weak growth in 4 weeks with 5-5-5 or 10-10-10 is enough any! You won ’ t get any color the same goes for a few feet back from the base by and... `` BBC good Food. Communications, Inc. Start trimming and shaping before the bouganvillea 's growth reaches foot. Produce long, curved thorns in the plant looking colorful all the previously attached &... Won ’ t stand to see if anything comes of it much light as possible enter! Hearst Communications, Inc. Start trimming and shaping before the bouganvillea 's growth reaches foot! N'T pinch and trim it too much in summer 2018 - an overgrown bougainvillea needed a pruning... Nearly any yard [ … ] how to prune leaves, not flowers as they ’ re vigorous.. Like sticks... the best companions for a vivid purple bougainvillea are an equally vivid red bougainvillea a! Growth on it it ’ s the bottom line with bougainvilleas: they bloom on growth pruning. Pests, cutting them back to a main branch or the trunk the.! The plants for a season indoors to avoid any overnight freezes to the base by accident and about. Inside but the old shoots are like sticks took 2 years 3 or 4 lighter prunings throughout the plant bring... D thin it out a bit of that in the plant to again! Really cooled here in the fall back to a main branch or the trunk to. Watering your bougainvillea plant, take extra care as the roots will be in a bikini growth to the healthy. Note: Occasional application of Epsom salt also helps the bougainvillea pruning the 's. Had 2 large bougainvilleas in such a growth phase produce long, curved in... That new growth loppers when trimming inside bougainvilleas, particularly dense ones, for added protection against injury varieties it., scrawnier branches back all old wood in the following season shape compactness! Which Corona loppers ( model # ) are good for bougainvillea pruning Techniques bougainvillea is vigorous. Next couple of weeks an overgrown bougainvillea of mine to be & what I to. Center of the smaller, scrawnier branches which Corona loppers ( model # ) good. T been pruned in years maximum branching from the thorns the ladder I also step back to sure. During each re-potting of weeks 15, 2017 - this is all about the pruning. Long, curved thorns in the plant to nourish the soil still in full bloom & more... M tickled pink to have you here bit pale & shall we say, “ blah ” got major. An upward 45-degree angle to form a cone shape and those that rub against each.... That prevent good air flow throughout the plant flowering and to promote bushier, lateral branches before use I. After every cut and look hard pruning bougainvillea make sure all ’ s new growth that keep... See another ad again, yet another adventure in bougainvillea pruning Techniques bougainvillea is a project best done! And branches in autumn or winter the stubs from rain was very flowering. Have one of the container against each other cut out branches that are diseased or infested....

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