I learned something new recently that could help with flowering, though it won't help with keeping them compact. As a bougainvillea grows, at each leaf node there is a chance of one of two things happening; either it will form a thorn or it will form a flower. By clipping a bougainvillea, it often makes it so that the plant will go into 'thorn mode' for a time before going back to flowering (perhaps a defense mechanism?) You can try to force blooming by using specialized fertilizers formulated to induce flowering; these are often found for veggies, but sometimes pretty much the same formulation is packaged as bougainvillea fertilizer and marked up a little more. Ultimately though, the best way to get a bougainvillea to flower is to leave it alone.

Thank you all for your kind words! R S : the budget was about 20% of a 50K CND $ reno of a two bedroom, one bath unit that was fully redone (flooring, 7 windows, a few wall removals, new kitchen and bathroom, paint, etc...) There are some photos of the rest of the suite added to my profile however a few more are coming soon.

@Toronto Veterinarian, how much detergent to use is affected by several factors like the capacity of the washer, water hardness, degree of soilage, etc. What is the size of your compact washer? I'll assume it's about 2.2 CF as the only compact washers I can think of are Bosch, GE and Miele of about 2.2 CF. 1/8 cup Tide liquid (HE) = 30 mL = 2 TBSP; which I think is too much for the capacity. I recommend half of that, 15 mL = 1 TBSP. I'm in Toronto also so we should have the same water hardness unless you live outside city limits, then I don't know the hardness. ============ Here are my experience/usage washer: Bosch next 500 FL 8 kg/17.6 lb capacity ~4.0 CF with onboard heater water hardness: moderately hard detergent: Persil original liquid, Tide Free liquid and powder A normal load of laundry usually fills the FL tub - 3/4 to full. It's a combination of weight and volume, low to normal soilage laundry from daily wear. I use 1.5-2.0 tablespoons (equal to 22.5-30.0 mL) of any of the above detergents, which is 1/2 to 2/3 of line 1 (~45 mL on most brands). Sometimes I also include the same amount of baking soda with each wash. 1/4 cup of vinegar in lieu of FS. Typically I do profile washes heated to warm, hot, temperature boost, or XXsanitary temperatures. Warm is used for everyday PP/cotton clothing. Hot, temperature boost, or XXsanitary are used for towels and bedding like duvet covers, bed sheets, mattress protector, pillow cases. I only use cold water on "delicate" for wool (sweaters, tops, pants), silk ties, etc. I do not use pods as their dosage is too much. Each pod contains ~45 mL of detergent.

99% of europe uses "compact" units with no real complaints of it being too small. If they were too small then the market would shift towards larger units. Mfgs only make what people want to buy. we have the Miele unts (in 2 houses) and find them acceptable. To be sure, you will be running a few more loads. If you separate clothes (white, darks, delicates) you wont have a problem as the load size will be appropraite. If you are a shove it all in there then you will find it small. The Miele Little Giants are great but very expensive and require two 220v lines. The Miele W1/T1 units are both 110v. Easier install (especially in a condo with limited space in the electrical panel) and little heat generated due to the heat pump. I cant tell if your cooktop is radiant or induction, but radiant top and condensor dryer would generate alot of heat in a small kitchen.