How to prune bougainvillea

1. Pruning time

The best time to prune bougainvillea is mainly after flowering and before sprouting.

2. Pruning Types

1. Pruning: Pruning means trimming part of the branches. After pruning, new branches will grow from the branches below the cut, and after pruning a branch, two to four new branches can grow below. By pruning, the branches can be made shorter and denser.

2. Thinning: Thinning is to completely cut off the branches from the base of the trunk. Through thinning, the crown can be loosened, the permeability can be improved, and the amount of branches and leaves can be reduced. The two must be combined to trim the bougainvillea better.

3. Specific pruning methods

1. As for the method of pruning, it can be divided into heavy pruning, medium pruning and light pruning according to the severity. The so-called heavy pruning is to cut off a large part of the branches, leaving one-third to one-quarter of the branches, and completely cut off the others. This is mainly carried out during the deciduous dormant period. It will affect the number and direction of the branches after re-sprouting next year, and it is very helpful for adjusting the plant shape. Medium pruning involves cutting off about half of the branches, while light pruning involves cutting off about one-third to one-quarter of the branches, leaving most of them untouched. As for pruning, whether to use medium-short pruning, heavy pruning or light pruning depends on the specific direction of the branches and the shape of the tree.

2. Thinning can be done during the dormant period or the growing period. It mainly involves pruning off the small, weak, and dense branches inside the crown to prevent the trunk from becoming too bloated, affecting ventilation and light transmission, which in turn increases the occurrence of diseases and insect pests.

IV. Precautions

When pruning bougainvillea, these methods should be used in combination to make the branches grow more balanced in appearance, to avoid some branches growing too strong and some branches growing too thin. The development of the branches should be more balanced and the direction should be more reasonable. When pruning, try to keep the outer branches and the inner branches as much as possible. In this way, after a few years of pruning, the shape of the branches will be very beautiful.