Bougie Blooms Loose Blush!??

Lesley

The purple color of my Bougie's Bracts are fading and I'm not sure what to do! Should I cut off the blooms now in the growing season or wait till they really die off in the fall? I've posted a picture of the spring growth in my gallery. There are many more bracts now (Can't post till this weekend when I can get help from hubby) It was beautiful from May till last week! (July 4th). If I defoliate them will more sprout?

=('):

P.S. I tried to post the pic here but don't know how to

Thanks Lesley!

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Ladybug

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TreeBay

Yes, you can cut off the spent bracts and you should get this more, especially this early in summer.

Regards,

Matt

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Lesley

Thanks Matt! Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?
Lesley

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Ladybug

Lesley

Matt or any knowledgeable bougie fan,
I started removing the fading bracts and had a thought: Is this similiar to defoliation? If so should I leave the petriole or cut near to the branch. It looks like a petriole and it shoots out near a leaf. Am I damaging future buds?

Thanks for the guidance!

=('):

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Ladybug

TreeBay

I would be cutting well behind the flowers because they will need to sprout and grow before they produce flower buds again. If you were to just cut off the flower bract, it would grow out a few or several more inches beyond that point before flowering again.

The new buds come from the base of existing leaf petioles, and you would expect to get a few on each branch growing from which to select. I wouldn't worry too much about leaving behind leaf petioles. You can try and see if it makes any difference.

Regards,

Matt

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