How we research, write, review, and update every piece of content on Bougainvillea

Who Creates Bougainvillea Content?

Bougainvillea content is created and maintained by the Bougainvillea Editorial Team.

The editorial team combines expertise in:

• Indoor plant care and houseplant cultivation
• Aquarium plant nutrition and planted tank management
• Plant troubleshooting and diagnostic workflows
• Botanical research and scientific literature review
• Software engineering and calculator development

Rather than relying on a single author, Bougainvillea uses a documented editorial workflow. Plant care guides, calculators, diagnostic tools, and educational resources are researched, written, reviewed, and updated using the standards described on this page.

Our goal is simple: translate complex horticultural information into practical guidance that home gardeners can apply successfully.

Bougainvillea's content is designed for everyday plant owners, not academic researchers. Whenever possible, recommendations are based on peer-reviewed horticultural research, university extension publications, botanical databases, and documented cultivation practices.

All published content is reviewed against Bougainvillea's editorial standards before publication and is periodically re-evaluated as new research becomes available.

1. Content types and their standards

Bougainvillea publishes five distinct content types, each with its own production and review standard.

2. Source and citation standards

Primary sources we use

• Peer-reviewed horticultural science: HortScience, Scientia Horticulturae, Journal of Plant Nutrition, and USDA Agricultural Research Service extension publications are the primary reference bases for care parameter data.
• Botanical taxonomy: Species names, classification, and native range data follow Plants of the World Online (POWO), maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
• Aquatic plant science: Planted aquarium fertilizer dosing models are based on the Estimative Index (Tom Barr, 2004) and PPS-Pro (Greg Watson, 2005) dosing methodologies, cross-referenced against current planted tank research.
• Pest identification: Pest identification and treatment protocols reference material from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM), and equivalent EU extension resources.

Sources we do not use as primary references

• Product manufacturer care guides or marketing materials (these are promotional, not scientific)
• Unverified social media content or influencer plant care advice
• Aggregator plant care sites that do not cite their own sources
• Wikipedia as a terminal source (we use it to locate primary citations, not as the citation itself)

How we cite within content

In-article citations follow a pragmatic standard appropriate for a consumer-facing resource, not academic publishing: where a specific claim is derived from a specific publication, the publication is named in the text or linked directly. Calculators include a "How this is calculated" section accessible from each tool that documents the specific data sources used in the model.

3. Calculator methodology

This section documents the specific variables, correction factors, and validation approach used in Bougainvillea's core calculators. This transparency is intentional: a calculator you cannot inspect is a calculator you cannot trust.

Watering Calculator

The Watering Calculator computes a recommended watering interval in days using the following model:

Variable definitions and data sources:

• Base evapotranspiration rate: Species-level water use rate under standard greenhouse conditions (65–75°F, 50% RH, moderate indirect light). Sourced from published horticultural extension data and calibrated against professional nursery watering standards.
• Pot size coefficient: Larger pot volume relative to root mass increases moisture retention time. Coefficient derived from soil moisture retention studies using standard peat-based potting media.
• Pot material coefficient: Terracotta: 0.70 (loses moisture 30% faster than plastic baseline). Glazed ceramic: 0.95. Plastic/nursery pot: 1.00 (baseline). Fabric grow bag: 0.65 (breathable walls, faster drying).
• Light intensity coefficient: Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) drives water uptake. Bright direct sun: 1.35. Bright indirect: 1.00 (baseline). Medium indirect: 0.80. Low light: 0.60.
• Ambient humidity coefficient: Above 60% RH: 0.85. 40–60% (standard home): 1.00 (baseline). 20–40% (winter heated home): 1.30. Below 20%: 1.50.
• Season coefficient: Winter (shortened daylight, reduced growth): 0.60. Spring/Autumn (transitional): 0.85. Summer (active growth, peak evaporation): 1.15.

Sunlight Calculator

Light level assessments use lux and foot-candle ranges derived from published light requirement research for common houseplant species. Window direction and obstruction inputs map to approximate lux ranges based on solar geometry data for temperate latitudes (45–55°N, representing central Europe and northern United States — the primary audience for Bougainvillea's indoor plant content).

Humidity Calculator

Relative humidity requirements are expressed as measurable percentage ranges, not descriptive labels like "high humidity." Dew point, room temperature, and current RH inputs calculate the actual moisture addition required to reach a target RH, expressed in grams of water per cubic metre of room volume. This allows users to assess whether a humidifier, pebble tray, or grouping strategy is sufficient for their specific room size.

Aquarium Fertilizer Dosage Calculator

Macro and micronutrient dosing targets are based on the Estimative Index (EI) method, which uses target concentration levels in parts per million (ppm) rather than plant-by-plant analysis. EI targets for NO₃ (10–25 ppm), PO₄ (1–3 ppm), and K (10–30 ppm) are derived from Tom Barr's published research on planted aquarium nutrition. Dosing calculations account for tank volume, water change frequency, CO₂ supplementation status, and light intensity tier.

4. Review and update process

Publication review

All content passes through a two-stage review before publication: a technical accuracy review (verifying that care parameters, formulas, and species data match cited sources) and a practical review (verifying that outputs make sense in the context of real home environments, not just controlled growing conditions).

Scheduled content reviews

Evergreen content (species guides, calculator documentation, fertilizer references) is reviewed on an 18-month cycle. Seasonal content is reviewed 30 days before the relevant season begins: summer care content is reviewed in late April/early May, winter content in late September/early October.

Triggered reviews

Content is reviewed immediately when:

• A user correction identifies a verifiable factual error
• New peer-reviewed research contradicts a claim we have made
• A diagnostic tool's output patterns suggest systematic misidentification (e.g., a surge in "overwatering" diagnoses during conditions more consistent with cold root shock)
• A species undergoes reclassification that affects the information in its guide

Update disclosure

Significant factual updates to guides and calculator documentation are noted at the bottom of the relevant page with the update date and a brief description of what changed. Minor corrections (typos, formatting) are made without disclosure notes.

5. Corrections policy

We take corrections seriously. If you find an error in a Bougainvillea calculator, guide, or diagnostic tool, use our contact page and describe the specific claim you believe is incorrect, the page where you found it, and — if possible — a source that contradicts it.

Our commitment:

• We will acknowledge receipt of a correction request within 2 business days.
• We will complete a review of the flagged content within 5 business days of receipt.
• If the correction is confirmed, we will update the content and add an update disclosure note to the page.
• If we disagree with the correction after review, we will explain our reasoning in our response.

We do not remove content based on subjective disagreement with our conclusions. We correct content when it can be shown to be factually wrong based on available evidence.

6. What we separate from plant care science

Vastu and symbolic placement traditions

Vastu Shastra is a traditional Indian system of architecture and spatial arrangement with genuine cultural significance. Bougainvillea publishes Vastu plant guides because they represent real user interest. However, Vastu placement recommendations on Bougainvillea always appear secondary to, and never in conflict with, a plant's documented horticultural requirements. A plant requiring 1,000+ lux of bright indirect light to survive will not be recommended for a dark north-facing corner on Vastu grounds. The biological requirements are non-negotiable. The placement preference is not.

Air quality and wellness claims

Bougainvillea does not claim that houseplants meaningfully improve indoor air quality in typical residential volumes. The often-cited NASA Clean Air Study (Wolverton, 1989) used plant densities of approximately 1 plant per 100 square feet under sealed laboratory conditions — a density 10–50× higher than typical home use, in conditions that do not replicate domestic air exchange rates. Subsequent research published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (Cummings & Waring, 2019) found that the air cleaning capacity of plants is at minimum 100× too low to compete with standard home ventilation rates. We present plants' documented aesthetic, psychological, and horticultural value clearly. We do not present unsubstantiated air quality claims as fact.

Styling and aesthetic advice

Plant arrangement, styling, and home décor content is clearly labelled as preference-based rather than care-based. Aesthetic guidance does not affect the care parameters or diagnostic logic in our tools.

7. Use of AI tools in content production

Bougainvillea uses AI writing tools as part of its content production workflow. We disclose this directly because undisclosed AI use in a content context we consider a form of editorial dishonesty.

How AI tools are used:

• Drafting and structural outlining of plant care guides and blog articles
• Generating FAQ candidate questions based on real user search patterns
• Reviewing drafts for structural consistency and completeness

How AI tools are not used:

• AI-generated care parameters, watering intervals, or quantitative data are never published without verification against the primary sources documented in Section 2
• Calculator algorithms are not generated by AI — they are built by our engineering team using the methodology documented in Section 3
• Diagnostic tool logic paths are not AI-generated — they follow documented differential diagnosis frameworks reviewed by our horticultural team

All content published under the Bougainvillea Editorial Team byline has been reviewed by a human reviewer against the standards documented in this policy before publication.