How Can I Make My Bougainvillea Bloom?

Did you planted or placed your bougainvillea in direct sunlight?

Is your bougainvillea exposed to a night light?

Do you water your plant often?

Do you feed your plant with high-nitrogen fertilizer?

Do you pinch and prune your bougainvillea?

Did you allow your bougainvillea to have a resting period during dormancy?

Did you repot your bougainvillea?

Bougainvillea demands plenty of sunlight. Without direct sunlight of at least five hours each day, your bougainvillea will not bloom. The more sun the vine receives, the more blooms it will have.

If your vine is exposed to night lighting, it could have limited blooms. Some bougainvilleas need longer nights and short, bright days to induce flowering.

Being the hardy plants they are, bougainvillea doesn’t need much water. Bougainvillea is native to very arid conditions so water it only when the top two inches of the soil feel dry to the touch. More than that and you’ll encourage root rot and discourage blooms.

Feeding bougainvillea with high-nitrogen fertilizer will affect it to produce lush green growth but no blooms will appear. If you want your plant to bloom, feed it more with phosphate and potassium, adding nitrogen only when your plant’s leaves start to look slightly less green than usual.

At any time during the growing season, pinch off about 1/2 inch of the stem tips to encourage more branching and ultimately, more flowers. Bougainvilleas generally respond well to pruning too. Cut off suckers at the base of the plant to encourage more growth at the top. However, if you need to severely prune the plant to reduce its size, wait until after it finishes blooming in late fall or prune in spring after the last frost but before new buds form.

Bougainvilleas need a resting period to be at their best during the summer growing season. That dormancy naturally happens in the winter, when temperatures drop and nights are longer. If you bring your potted bougainvillea indoors for the winter, consider placing it in a cool, dark spot in your house, such as an unheated room where lights aren't turned on at night.

Bougainvillea thrives on neglect, including being allowed to become root-bound. The plants produce more flowers when the roots are slightly crowded in the pot. This is why landscape bougainvilleas often don’t bloom as rigorously or as frequently as those planted in pots.

You have done all you can to make your bougainvillea bloom this season.