Bougainvillea 10L - Various Colours

Bougainvillea bursts into flower from spring and will flower through summer making them a great addition to the garden and along boundary walls. The drier the spring, the better they flower. Bougainvillea are easily clipped and trained to make a striking container plant or pruned into more formal hedges or focal plants.  The expression WOW, is what comes to mind when one sees them in full flower, the solid mass of colour is simply that spectacular. Originally from South America bougainvillea are sprawling climbers and shrubs with formidable thorns on mature plants growing up to +-10m tall. They are suited to a somewhat arid, subtropical to tropical climate, being semi-hardy to frost when young. When in flower, their insignificant flowers are surrounded by bracts of blazing colour in bright purples, pinks, oranges and all the shades in between. Those with darker flowers are as a rule of thumb a little tougher than the pastel colours.

Bougainvillea bursts forth with colourful flowers from spring to autumn making them a great addition to the garden and along boundary walls. Bougainvillea are easily trimmed and trained to make a striking container plant, be used for large topiaries or pruned into more formal hedges or focal plants. They naturally bloom in the spring and seem to bloom better in drier years. Bougainvillea need to be trimmed to maintain their shape. Flowering on new wood along their long branches aggressive pruning of new growth may reduce the show. The best approach is to prune in late January to February, after the growing season is complete, so it will bloom from next season’s new growth.

Give bougainvillea plants well-drained soil. Water sparingly. Bougainvillea plants weaken with too much watering, ending up with all leaf growth in place of flowers. Clay soil hold on to too much water for them, particularly a problem for young plants. Adding stones rocks or gravel into the hole when planting will help with drainage. Bougainvillea actually favours poor quality soil so at planting don’t add compost only bone meal.

Choose the right spot, facing due north. Bougainvillea is a sun-lover and it will flower best in a full sun position. Heat is not an issue for bougainvillea in fact the harsher the sun exposure the better.