BOTANICAL CARD OF BONSAI

BOUGAINVILLEA

Common Name: PAPER FLOWER - Family: NYCTAGINACEAE

ORIGIN:

Shrub and climber native to the tropical areas of South America, such as Brazil, it takes its name from the French explorer at the head of the expedition that allowed its discovery, Louis Antoine Bougainville. It includes about 20 different species, with deciduous and thorny leaves, with ovate leaves and small white flowers, the latter enclosed between three bracts of the most common colors present in the Mediterranean belt of purple, red, pink, to the strongest colors of yellow, white or orange, present in more tropical areas.

PRUNING:

Carry out the setting pruning, then cutting the thickest branches, at the end of winter, just before the plant starts to vegetate again.

During the year you will have to do several prunings to maintain the shape of the bonsai, as it is a very fast and vigorous plant in growth, also pinch all the dried flowers with your hands in order to stimulate new blooms.

REPOT:

In early spring, before new shoots are born, or in late summer, with a soil for Mediterranean bonsai . Together with the repotting, also prune the roots by about 1/3 of their length.

WATERING:

This plant, in the periods of vegetation, likes abundant watering, instead carry out measured interventions in the periods in which it is bare.

FERTILIZATION:

Once a month from spring to autumn.

EXPOSURE:

Heliophilous plant (lover of the sun), it must be protected during the winter in cases of temperatures close to 0, and exposed to full sun throughout the rest of the year.

If you live in southern Italy in the middle of summer, protect it in partial shade during the hottest hours of the day.

BINDINGS:

Tie the branches when it is bare, be very careful as the branches of the Bougainvillea are not very flexible and easily break or weaken with more accentuated twists.