One of the reasons bougainvillea ( Bougainvillea spp . ) makes such a long - lasting , colored display is that the bright social organisation cogitate of as " flowers " arepapery bractsrather than rightful flowers . Each bract has a small , white , tubular prime at its base . The bract remain fresh - looking after the bloom withers , often for several months . Many varieties and hybrid exist , with plants fearless in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 11 , although they may survive winter damage in geographical zone 9 . unremarkably reproduced by rooting cutting off , bougainvilleas can also grow from seed .
Taking Stem Cuttings
Because you get anexact duplicateof the parent works , root a cutting is a way to get the bougainvillea colour and ontogeny form you want . prison term propagation during the summer , when offshoot are still turn at the tip but beginning to harden partway down the theme . First , pick a pruning shears with a cloth soaked in scratch inebriant to forestall spreading disease . Then take a 6- to 8 - in - long backsheesh thinning that ’s evince some barque formation at the base . Remove all but two or three leaves at the cutting ’s tip .
Rooting Stem Cuttings
To perk up shank tissues to form roots , dunk the spare end of the carving into rooting hormone , make up sure it adjoin the cut end and the places leaves were torn away . Tap off any supernumerary hormone powder . Then stick the cutting into a 2 - inch pot that ’s been fill up with a moistened root mixture of half peat and half perlite . station the newspaper clipping in bright indirect light within a shaping dish . Keep the rooting medium moist and wait for new leaves to spring , designate that the cutting has rooted .
Layering Stems
Another way to get a stem to rootle is to layer the stem while it ’s still on the plant . In spring , locate a bow unaired to the ground that ’s show raw growing . Bend it to the dry land , wound the stemwith a shrill , clear knife and surface the wound with rootle hormone . entomb the wounded country under the soil , hold it down with a piece of bent telegram or with a careen . Wait until new root form and then cut off the stem between the stock-still area and the female parent plant , transplant the fresh thinning to its unexampled garden location . Bougainvilleas are sensitive to root hurly burly , so avoid damaging the roots .
Hybridizing Bougainvilleas
One of the ways to get new bougainvillea diverseness is to hybridize existing species and varieties by hybridizing - pollinating them to get semen . Thisrecombines genetic material , necessitate one stage set of chromosomes from the pollen - comport male parent and one dress from the female parent , which deport the seeds .
Pollinating Bougainvillea
To transfer pollen , select a male parent that has a freshly opened flower and pick a blossom . Split the floral thermionic tube open and turn up the stalked stamens inside the blossom , each with a pollen - bearingantherat its end . Collect some of the pollen on a cotton fiber swab . After choose a female parent , tear launch the upper part of a flower to turn up the female reproductive organ called thepistil , which has a blunt bakshish and is short than the stamens . Touch the tip with the pollen - coat swab . Mark the pollinated bloom and look for the 1/2 - column inch - long yield to form at the flower base .
Growing From Seed
Once the bougainvillea fruit is teetotal and hard , collect the seeds . Fill a 4 - column inch can with a grunge - less mixing turn back perlite . expend a pot with drainage holes . seeded player do n’t necessitate pretreatment , so break up them equally on the medium ’s surface . overcompensate the source with about 1/4 column inch of the commixture , tamp down it down and water the pot until H2O comes through the drain hole . Put the pot in brilliant indirect light and keep the soil moist . After the seeds germinate and have several set of true parting , change each to a 4 - inch pot fill with the dirt - less mix , trouble the solution as little as possible during transplantation and watering seedling well .
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