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Singh et al., 2020. Production Technology of Bougainvillea

Research Spp. Research Today 2(6): 472-474.

Today
472 A bstrac t
Vol 2:6 474
B
ougainvillea belong to Nyctaginaceae family and the most

2020 important flowering shrubs of tropics and sub-tropics. It

is native of South America. It is used in beautification of
landscape and road side planting. Bougainvillea provides hedges,

Production Tech-
barriers, and slope coverings. Bougainvillea’s growth habit and
beautiful showy bracts make it a popular plant for landscapes.
These plants are propagated from cuttings, budding, by ground or

nology of Bougain- air layering methods. The best planting seasons is rainy.

Introduction
villea Spp.
B
ougainvillea is a tropical and subtropical woody,
evergreen, shrubby vine. Typically, multi-trunked or
Krishan Kumar Singh 1*, Shiv Pratap with clumping stems, it has a spreading, round plant
Singh2, Brahmanand Bairwa3 and J. S. habit with a height and spread of up to 20 feet. It climbs by
Chauhan4 sending out slender arching canes armed with stiff curved
thorns. As they age, the stems turn from mid-green to
1
Dept. of Horticulture, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, dull green-brown. Bougainvillea is deciduous when grown
Garhwal, Uttarakhand (249 161), India in areas with a long dry season. Numerous cultivars are
2
Dept. of Botany, Hindu College, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh available, with a striking array of colours. Their colourful
(244 001), India “flowers” are really bracts, or modified leaves, 1⁄2 - 2 inches
3
School of Agriculture Sciences, Career Point University, long structures to which the true flowers are attached at the
Alaniya, Kota, Rajasthan (324 005), India mid-rib. New growth is required for inflorescence production,
4
Dept. of Seed Science and Technology, H.N.B. Garhwal which occurs on short stem axes borne laterally in the axils
of leaves. Bougainvillea’s growth habit and beautiful showy
University, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand (249 161), India
bracts make it a popular plant for landscapes. It is used in
mass plantings, as shrubs or bushes, and as ground cover
on banks. Bougainvillea provides hedges, barriers, and slope
coverings. For large, difficult-to-maintain areas, bougainvillea
is an excellent ground cover. It can cover a whole hillside and
will choke out weed growth. Dwarf cultivars make colourful
ground covers. Bougainvillea can be trained as a “standard,”
Open Access a small flowering tree with a single trunk (photo above), over
arbores, into espaliers, onto walls, or to cascade down a slope
Corresponding Author (Awad et al., 1988). Bougainvillea is used as an accent plant,
Krishan Kumar Singh a specimen plant, in hanging baskets, in containers, and for
e-mail: forekrishna@gmail.com bonsai. Give plants enough room to grow to maturity without
being crowded. Most cultivars do well 6–9 feet apart. Smaller
Key wo r d s cultivars can be planted closer together, at 3–5- foot spacing.
Bougainvillea should not be planted within 4 feet of walkways,
Bougainvillea, Cultivation, Cultivar, Production technology as the thorns could catch unsuspecting passers-by.
Soil

Article History
Received in 20th June 2020
Received in revised form 24th June 2020
Accepted in final form 25th June 2020
E-mail: bioticapublications@gmail.com
B
ougainvillea grows well in rich, well drained, acidic (pH
5.5–6.0) soil. It does not thrive in soil that is constantly
wet. Proper soil pH is essential because it affects the
availability of mineral elements. A soil pH above 6.0 increases
the possibility of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron.

© 2020 472
Singh et al., 2020
Bougainvillea is drought tolerant, salt tolerant, and wind
resistant.
Cultivars
T
here are innumerable cultivars of Bougainvillea including
hybrids. Some of the selected cultivars belonging to
different species and some hybrids which are commonly
grown in India are described below.
1. Cultivars of B. peruviana
P
rincess Margaret Rose (possibly a synonym of ‘Lady
Hudson’), Mary Palmer (patented as ‘Surprise’ in the
U.S.A). It is a sport from ‘Mrs. H.C. Buck’ It is a most
popular bicoloured cultivar, Dr. B.P. Pal, Shubhra, Mrs. H.C.
Buck (Syn. ‘Mahatma Gandhi’), Partha A seedling of ‘Princess
Margaret Rose’.
2. Cultivars of B. glabra
C
ypheri, Formosa, Magnifica, Sanderiana, Snow White,
Moonlight Madonna, Buddhadas, Dream, Gagarin,
Kalyani, Sachidananda, Stanza and Trinidad.
3. Cultivars of B. spectabilis
A
ida, Boise de Rose, Jubilee, Maharaja of Mysore, Mrs.
Lancaster, Rosa Catalina, Tomato Red, Lateritia (syn.
‘Dar-es-Salam’, ‘Brasiliensis’), Refulgens, and Speciosa.
4. Cultivars of B. x buttiana
A
lick Lancaster (syn. ‘Lilac Queen’), Enid Lancaster also
known as ‘Golden Glow’ and Gold Queen, Lady Mary
Baring, Louise Wathen, Magenta Queen (syn. ‘Purple
Queen’, ‘Mrs. Butt Magenta’), Mrs. Butt (syn. ‘Ruby’, ‘Crimson
Lake’) and Scarlet Queen.
5. Some cultivars (seedlings) whose parentage is not known.
I
n Asia introduced by Lalbagh, Bangalore; from Kenya,
‘Begum Ali Yavur Jung’, Eclipse, Kayata, Nawab Ali Yavur
Jung and Pixie.
6. Double-bracted cultivars
I
n recent years, several multi-bracted or double-bracted
cultivars have been introduced by Dr. J.V. Pancho of the
Philippines. Instead of the normal three bracts as found in
Bougainvillea, the bracts in these cultivars number between 20
and 40. These are bud sports from cultivars of B. x buttiana.
The different cultivars in this category are listed below:
Archana, Carmencita, Cherry Blossom (syn. ‘Bridal Bouquet’).
Multi-bracted., Double Pink, Double White, Los Banos Beauty
(syn. Pink Champagne’), Marietta, Mahara (syn. ‘Million Dollar,
Manila Magic Red, Manila Red) and Roseville’s Delight. A free-
flowering vigorous plant with apricot-orange bracts.
7. Variegated cultivars
T
here are a number of cultivars with variegated leaves
that are in cultivation in the garden, these are mostly
bud sports. A few of these are described below:
© 2020
Archana. A double-bracted cultivar, mentioned earlier, Bhabha
A sport of ‘Louise Wathen’, Glabra Variegata, Jawaharlal Nehru
Developed at I.I.H.R., Bangalore. The leaves are beautifully
variegated yellow and green, L.N.Birla, Laxminarayan,
Louise Wathen Variegata (Syn. ‘Louise Wathen Mediopicta’),
Marietta, Rao. A bud sport of ‘Mrs. Butt’, Scarlet Queen
Variegata, Sharma., Spectabilis Variegata, Thimma A bud sport
of ‘Mary Palmer’ with double-coloured bracts like those of
‘Mary Palmer’. The young shoots are creamish-yellow and
pink with some dark spots. A broad yellow variegation at
the centre of the large green leaves intakes this cultivar one
of the best even when not in flower. It performs very well in
Bangalore. It has been propagated from greenwood cuttings
or by ground layering.
Propagation
B
ougainvillea plants are propagated from cuttings, by
ground or air layering and budding. Cutting: Pencil-
thick hardwood leafy cuttings of 15-25 cm length are
best. Some cultivars such as Mary Palmer’, ‘Thimma’, ‘Louis
Wathen’, ‘Tomato Red Lateritia’, etc., are difficult to root
from cuttings. In cultivars such as ‘Thimma’ and Cypheri’
tender tip cuttings root better than hardwood cuttings. Before
the cuttings are inserted, they may be treated with growth
regulators such as IBA (Indole butyric acid) IAA (Indole acetic
acid) and NAA (Naphthalene acetic acid) in solution or talc.
The concentration used is generally between 1,000 and 3,000
ppm in the “quick-dip”” method. Singh, et al. (2011) reported
that the maximum survival and rooting percentage of cutting
observed under higher concentration of IBA. Hardwood
cuttings observed better growth than softwood and semi
hardwood cuttings (Singh, 2018). Time for striking cuttings in
Delhi and surrounding areas is during July-August or February-
March. In eastern India, the cuttings are planted in the nursery
during the rains. Air layering the compost used is leaf mould
or leaf mould with FYM. Bougainvillea can also be raised by
the inarching method on a vigorous growing rootstock. The
cultivars which cannot be grown either from cuttings or by
layering are raised by “T” or “Shield” budding. Generally, ‘Dr.
R.R. Pal’, a vigorous cultivar, is used as rootstock. ‘Partha’ is
also a good rootstock and is used at some places. The best
budding time is February to March. Plants are also raised from
seeds for obtaining new hybrids or cultivars.
Planting
T
he best time of planting in northern India is during July
to September. Planting in the winter should be avoided
as the mortality rate will be high and the growth of
plants will be very poor. In eastern India, the planting is done
during the rains. In heavy rainfall areas planting may be done
just before or after the rains. In Bangalore and at places
having similar climate, planting is possible almost throughout
the year except during the hotter months of March to May.
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Research Today 2020, 2(6):472-474
But the best planting time is between June and October. Pits
measuring about 1 m in diameter and 75 cm deep should be
dug to receive the plants. About 8-10 kg of well-rotten cow
dung manure should be added to each pit at planting time.
Manures and Fertilizers
A
fter the basal dose of manure, the Bougainvillea’s are
given 10-12 kg of farmyard manure once a year after
the June pruning. At this time, 250 gm of bone meal
should also be applied to each plant. Generally, no fertilizer is
applied. But Pal and Swarup (1974) suggest the application of
250 gm of a mixture of ammonium sulphate, superphosphate,
and sulphate of potash in the proportion of 1:3:2 per fully
grown bush. This is said to promote profuse flowering.
Application of liquid manure by fermenting fresh cow dung
or oilcake at fortnightly intervals prior to flowering has been
found to be beneficial.
Irrigation
Y
oung plants or those which are newly planted need
frequent watering. Once established, the plants need
very little or no watering. However, in dry localities,
one heavy irrigation per month during summer is beneficial.
Frequent watering is harmful. During flowering time watering
should be restricted; otherwise, heavy watering will result in
the shedding of the bracts.
Pruning
T References
he amount and the method of pruning will depend
upon the cultivar and the purpose for which the plant
is grown. For example, the specimen bushes growing
in the lawn or on the trees and stumps do not require much
pruning except pinching or tipping and removal of weak and
dead branches. The side branches and erect extra growths are
pruned in those plants which grow on a wall. In standards, all
growths on the main stem are removed to keep the umbrella
form of the plant in shape. Generally speaking, B. glabra and
peruviana do not need hard pruning.
In northern and eastern India, the time of pruning is May to
June. Tipping and pinching should also be completed by the
middle of September. Manures and fertilizers are added at
the time of pruning.
© 2020
Pests and Diseases
B
ougainvillea is a hardy plant and pests and diseases are
not a problem. Some leaf diseases have been reported
by some workers in the U.S.A., but these are not serious
in India. Similarly, some leaf-eating caterpillars have been
mentioned by some workers in the U.S.A., but these do not
cause any serious trouble in India.
Conclusion
B
ougainvillea’s growth habit and beautiful showy bracts
make it a popular plant for landscapes. It is used in mass
plantings, as shrubs or bushes, and as ground cover on
road sides etc. Bougainvillea is drought tolerant, salt tolerant
and wind resistant plant. Some of the selected cultivars are
B. peruviana, B. Glabra and B. spectabilis while B. x buttiana
is a hybrid. Besides that some other variegated cultivars are
Mary Palmer’, ‘Thimma’, ‘Louis Wathen’, ‘Tomato Red Lateritia.
These plants are propagated from cuttings, budding, by ground
or air layering methods. The best planting seasons is rainy.
Bougainvillea required farm yard manure for good growth,
while liquid fertilizers can also be used for profuse flowering.
Plants required irrigation at regular intervals for better growth
but it should be restricted during flowering time. Pruning is
also done during summer and before rainy seasons. Generally,
pest problems not deal with Bougainvillea but farmers should
check weak or dead branches and remove it at regular intervals
for better growth.
Awad, A.E., Dawh, A.K., Attya, M.A., 1988. Cutting thickness
and auxin affecting the rooting and consequently the
growth and flowering of Bouganvillea glabra L. Acta
Hort., 226(11), 445-454.
Singh, K.K., Rawat, J.M.S., Tomar, Y.K., 2011. Influence of IBA
on Rooting Potential of Torch Glory Bougainvillea glabra
During Winter Season. Journal of Horticultural Science
& Ornamental Plants, 3(2), 162-165.
Singh, K.K., 2018. A review: Multiplication of Bougainvillea
species through cutting. International Journal of
Chemical Studies, 6(2), 1961-1965.
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