Structural pruning of bougainvillea should take place at the end of winter or in early spring, just before the growth season starts but before the plants are actively blooming. I want to trellis my bougainvillea against my outside wall, but that would mean I couldn't bring it indoors during the winter. It’s light, easy to hold, & does the trick in no time flat. I live in Almeria, Spain. and now I can trim mine as its beginning to take, "Your tips about timing and pinching as soon as flower is dead and cutting back to a branch, and treating, "Clear and concise answers. Pruning meant to shape or rejuvenate bougainvilleas should take place in late winter or early spring, immediately after the period of blooming, to avoid removing blossoms. I have one in my backyard in Southern California. ", "Info on pruning was helpful. Sucker growth? The lead photo was taken in March so you can see how much more vibrant the color & overall flowering is in late winter/early spring. Be sure to time your pruning correctly, then you can prune … I didn’t take an after pic but you can see how it turned out can in the video. I’m tickled pink to have you here! ", baskets. References Don't water again, for quite sometime, they do well without water. However, when indoors, you may want to keep an eye out for … Now, I, "The post on growing bougainvillas was great. Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. I grow my bougainvillea in a pot outside in summer and inside in winter. Cutting off weaker branches as the base will promote … I fear I, "Learned the right way to trim and prune. Is there a way to make my plant bloom year round? ", "Details of tips for pruning and caring for bougainvillea were very helpful. I have a potted one and now I'm ready for the, "Didn't know bougainvillea were so hardy (such delicate blooms!) how to prune bougainvillea in pots. Place the plant in a pot with soil or sand, then water to settle and remove air pockets. By using our site, you agree to our. As much as I love nature, I have no desire to have dirt under my fingernails! Last year it was showing a lot of colors right on through to the end of November. Fiskars snippers – these are my go to’s for tip pruning the softer growth at the very ends. Summer bougainvillea care; Winter bougainvillea care; How to prune a bougainvillea; Best bougainvilleas for pots and containers; Questions I Often Get About Planting Bougainvillea. When would be the best time to move it to a larger container? Anything growing too close to the ground comes out too. Just so you can get an idea, this is the bougainvillea in full bloom in end of April. Dwarf varieties can be planted on top of a wall or in hanging baskets, where they will create cascades of color. Try a variety of shapes and forms when pruning bougainvillea. You can grow many of the varieties outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10, but you can grow them as annuals or indoors in colder climates. Pruning bougainvillea in summer, which is mid-season for this plant, encourages another round of bloom. I attached a metal trellis to the center top of the garage & trained it to grow across the entire span. I'm new at growing bougainvillea and needed to know if it can live in a. How do I prune bougainvillea during a frost? Thank you for all your bougainvillea tips! ", and I am going to start shaping next spring. It’ll also cause more inner foliage growth so that’s why when after I’m done with the pruning, this bougainvillea looks a little thin. Take out any dead, weak or spindly branches along the way. My question: you know those super small, teeny-tiny, spindly, Y-shaped twig branches that come off a long main branches, they don’t have any leaves or blooms, and they’re dry and seem like they can be snapped? ", spread on a frame and flowered well. Oh, I love to create so you’ll find a bit of that in the mix along with lots of videos too. I step back & look at the plant. 2. It puts out a good bloom for 8 months & a much lighter for 3. This article has been viewed 352,188 times. 1.) When deadheading, do I pinch the whole flower off or leave the bulbous bit it grows out of? My bougainvillea is not flowering, what could be causing this when it is large and healthy? Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a0f0a4bbea5342e8331901faae6e5530" );document.getElementById("c02e276035").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. With a bit of pruning, bougainvillea can be trained as a bush, a climbing vine, a tree, a … Remove the pruners and … During the growing season you can prune … Let’s face it, why have bougainvillea if it doesn’t bloom? ", "This helped me a lot. ", "Timing to prune Bougainvillea was helpful. It would be best if you didn't move your bougainvillea to a larger container at all. Bougainvillea are hardy and can tolerate any type of pruning you prefer. Foliage encroaching in the path of the garage door & into my patio dining area on the other side is pruned back also. Bougainvillea. Should I cut off the thorns? We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. Not 1 of the prettier photos I’ve taken but this gives you an idea of some of the types of branches I took out. This bougainvillea is now pretty much the way I want it but I did take off a few of the taller branches. Prune in early spring. You can remove dead wood from the plant by trimming it at any time of year, but save the bigger pruning cuts for early spring, when the plant won't get damaged. This is how it looked before the pruning on the driveway side. Perform “soft pinch” pruning on a bougainvillea plant any time of the year to promote bushier, lateral branches. Prune a bougainvillea plant regularly to encourage prolific flowering and bush growth. Here are a few pruning tips to help you out. The 1st  are to shape and stimulate flowering and the last one in late fall is very light, just to clean up any dead or funky growth. Thank you. I’ve gotten comments like “why is my bougainvillea not blooming” or “my bougainvillea was blooming was blooming when I brought it home but now it’s not”. Enough said about that! ", over in my sunspace which is very small. If you wait until late summer … If you’re going for a dense look in the middle, go for it. The flower color of a bougainvillea which changes as the temperature & heat changes. A neighbor pruned her bougainvillea and left long branches. That’s why on older, taller bougainvilleas which haven’t been pruned in a while all the color is at the ends an/or at the top. Leaving dried blooms on the plant will prohibit new blooms from forming. When learning how to prune bougainvillea, keep in mind that the more often you prune off dead blooms, the more new blooms your plant will produce. We are 1800 miles above sea level here and it often snows in winter. Don't prune your bougainvillea during a frost. Bougainvillea shrubs can be pruned to achieve all sorts of shapes. I like this bougainvillea to have a looser more open form which is why I go sparingly with this step. Yes. Your cost for the products will be no higher but Joy Us garden receives a small commission. ", first pruning. These have been my go to’s for almost 30 years now & I wouldn’t garden without them. You can see how I pruned my vibrant magenta/purple Bougainvillea glabra in Santa Barbara to grow up and over the garage. I’ve lived in this house in Tucson for 2 years  and have pruned it into a form which is pleasing to me. ", "Excellent descriptions for caring for bougainvillea. Shocked or nipped? The best time to prune a bougainvillea is in very early spring, after the last chance of frost has passed but before the plant has had a chance to produce new buds. I like being able to prune it without a ladder. There are multiple answers for both (the most fundamental is that bougainvilleas need full sun and warm temperatures to flower successfully) but there are only 2 reasons I want to address in this post. is a spiny climbing subtropical shrub that can … As you prune, you can gently wrap new shoots around the structure to which the plant is being trained, to encourage growth in that direction. Maude Archibald. Thick growth, stubby branches, mostly bare branches & funky curved growth. It’ll fill in a bit within the next few weeks. Probably. In my chilly, northern climate, bougainvillea can only be grown as a tropical houseplant. The bougainvillea plant is native to Brazil and introduced to Europe in the 19th century. I am now going to follow your instructions for pinching back new growth. This tropical perennial gained its nickname, "paper flower," for its delicate bracts that come in a variety of colors, including purple, red and orange. Young plants, in particular, will benefit from full branch trims. Love the picture of shaped plant full of blooms. The ends I tip prune so flowering is a bit denser. However, if you are gentle while repotting you can do it anytime. In winters, when you bring the pot indoors, place it at a spot where it can receive an ample amount of light. Bougainvilleas need full sun for at least 6 hours to put out their best bloom. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/2a\/Prune-Bougainvillea-Step-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Prune-Bougainvillea-Step-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/2\/2a\/Prune-Bougainvillea-Step-2.jpg\/aid1383806-v4-728px-Prune-Bougainvillea-Step-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"