Tag Archives: Bonsai

Bougainvillea: The Beauty of Your Garden

This tropical plant is one of the common and best easy growing bonsai plants which looks tantalizing when it has a full tree bloom. It will just give your garden royal touch. Here underneath you could know everything about your bougainvillea. if you are a beginner this is a jewel and if an expert, there is for you too.  

Landscaping with Bougainvillea

Climate: This plant could thrive well in temperate as well as tropical regions. It blooms at a low temperature so in the temperate region it blooms throughout the year but in the tropical regions it flowers around the winter season.

Temperature: Though this plant is cold loving plant it could grow in a long range of temperatures. About 5 to 45 ⁰C.

Yellow Bougainvillea

Soil: This plant loves an acidic type of soli. But it could not tolerate staged water so the soil must be well drained.

Species: More than 80 species of different colours are there of bougainvillea.

Varieties of Bougainvillea

Sunlight: This plant could be grown over a long range of temperature regions so the sunlight requirements are different according to regions. In low temperature regions providing of full sunlight is better but in the high temperature regions providing a partial sunlight prevents wilting. In blooming season, it requires at least 5-8 hours of direct sunlight.

Watering: Water should be provided regularly but overwatering should not be done. During the flowering the watering should be lowered or it flower less and grow more. (except in high temperature region where there is a risk of wilting)

Variegated Red Bougainvillea

Terrain: Always loosen the soil around the trunk to make the soil airy, whether it is in ground or in a container pot. This also helps preventing water lodging problem in soil.

Pruning: bougainvillea is a hard wood type variety. So, it can be grown as a long tree structure as well as in bonsai form. For long structures pruning is only necessary for keeping the plant in a desired shape. But for bonsai both shoot and root pruning are necessary to control the shape and size of the plant.

Mixed variety by Grafting

This plant mostly requires a hard pruning after every flowering and a little once a month. Moreover, it should be taken care that the main root of the tap root system be pruned before planting in a pot and should be repoted once in 2-3 years according to the size of the pot.

Fertilizer: each and every plant require Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium to grow and flower and this is also same. Other than this some micronutrients are required from time to time according to the plant conditions. For knowing the basic fertilizer click here.

Other than this sometimes there arises a problem of Growth Retardation for which the best is gibberellic acid which could be found inorganic in market or in water in which cow dung cakes are drowned for at least 7 days.

Crimson Bougainvillea

During repotting a mixture of vermicompost 40%, used tea/coffee leaf 20%, neem cake 20%, bone meal10%, horn meal 5%, egg shell5% could also provide a good result for long time. Here I will recommend to reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers as in the long run it will harm your plants and the unused remaining, by the plant in the soil, will harm the nature.

Pesticides: there is a benefit that this plant seldom attacked by pests and if attacked then it can be easily get rid of by spraying neem oil or providing neem cake in the soil. For Fungus attack you can use any antifungal spray or powder available in the market.

For any further query about your bougainvillea plant comment here.

Are you doing this to your Plants (Bonsai)?

Bonsai is one of the oldest art form of humankind. Though it simply means the art of growing ornamental, artificially dwarf variety of trees and shrubs in pots. But it’s not so easy to grow a bonsai from beginning. After reading this it will be easy for you to make a cool bonsai plant.

Choosing a plant

For making a beautiful bonsai your first work is to choose a plant. For which there are some criteria, such as 

  • The Climate you live in: Climate is the most important factor. You can’t grow a deciduous plant in very hot temperature, or can’t grow an evergreen in extreme cold.
  • Variety of Plants: For beginners it is better to choose dwarf variety plants. But obviously bonsai made with tall variety plants looks gorgeous.
  • Leaves: If you can choose a small leaf variety plant it will look better later. Though you can reduce the leaf size of your plant afterwards.
  • Sunlight: Those plants that require a low sunlight will be difficult to grow in high sunlight areas.
  • Pots: Flat pots are best to grow bonsai. It gives a vintage look.

There are much more but for starters it’s necessary.

How should you care your plant?

“Time and patience are the only thing you need for transforming your regular plant into a bonsai. “

Different plants have different ways to take care about. You should have proper knowledge about your plant you are trying to grow. 

  • Soil: For most of the beginners soil is the most difficult things to choose. Now it depends on what type of plant you are growing. But as a common there should be well drainage. You may use the mixture of approximately 40%compost, 10% vermicompost, (20-30)%sand, 5%small stone chips ( under 10 mm), and (15-25)% garden soil.
  • Drainage: Usually we grow our bonsai in small pots so there should be a well drainage system such that the roots doesn’t rot. For which you have to make holes (as per your pot size) and keep some stone chips on it to make sure it doesn’t cloak.
  • Sunlight: Now sunlight is a big deal for shade lovers you need to grow them not under direct sunlight obviously. But for some plants for which you want to reduce leaf size, you should leave it under direct sunlight such that it could be able to create its required form in small part of its leaf and will not increase its length.
  • Watering: For less rainfall months you need to water regularly. But don’t overwater them. Rather water them twice. And for high rainfall months you should water them when it requires. And sometimes dry up the soil to avoid root rot.

Advanced care

  • Fertilizers: You need to study about your plants what they require. But for bonsai you need to give less fertilizers so as it get stout not grow fast. Sometimes you may use slow fertilizers like bone dust, horn dust or egg shell You should avoid nitrogen base fertilizer and use carbon or potassium based ones. But don’t overfeed them.
  • Root Pruning: You are growing your plants in a pot so you do loosen roots by dig the soil once a month. And in the middle of rainy season you pluck the plant with soil. Trim the roots or rearrange it and again plant it. Don’t disturb the roots too much. You may repot them during this time. And keep watering it daily after this for some days.
  • Shoot Pruning: There are different designs to make with your plants. And for this pruning your stems are important. So whenever you prune keeping mind that cut just over a node or internode, such that it will grow its stem from there. And look that you should cut over a node which is facing the direction in which you want to let it go.
  • Wiring: Sometimes we require to further design our plants. In that case use 6mm aluminium or copper wire but not iron. It is greatly recommended that do the wiring with hand so that you can know the rigidity and strength of the stem, such that it doesn’t break.

Medicines

Pesticides are more or less required to all plants and as per requirements use it over your plants. But what I do is, I have made some neem tree bonsai and kept it in my bonsai collection and for that reason insects are less attracted. Other than neem you may plant any such types of medicinal plants. 

And lastly you should have patience and love for your plants and work you are doing for your plants.

Now it’s very difficult to elaborate everything in one article so to know more follow my website Green Gardens and comments if you have any questions about your bonsai.

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