Common Name: Bougainvillea
Scientific Name: Bougainvillea spp.
Type of Plant: Vine
Description: Bougainvillea is a tropical vining shrub that comes in a wide array of bright and fanciful colors. The “flowers” are actually modified leaves, called bracts, that are long-lasting and bright. The colorful bracts outshine the plant’s true (but tiny) flower, much like a poinsettia. They appear periodically throughout most of the year, but are especially plentiful in the winter, when the splashes of color are a welcome sight. Bougainvillea blooms in fuschia, red, white, yellow, and orange.
Mature Size: 8-20′ tall x 10-40′ wide.
Blooms: Spring through Fall
Fruit: No
Climate Requirements: Bougainvilleas require full sun and actually perform better when their soil is left a little dry, making this a perfect plant for the drought-tolerant landscape. It needs to be protected from frost and freeze.
Care Requirements: If your plants are getting out of hand, pruning and maintenance is best done in the fall before a new growth cycle. You can also sporadically trim rangy stems as needed throughout the year. If you haven’t had a significant show of blooms recently, try giving your plant a drought period by withholding water. This can sometimes trick your plants into a dormancy period and trigger new blooms.
Spacing: Space plants 36-60″ apart
Water Needs: Low, once established
Maintenance: These are vigorous-growing plants that can quickly take over a wall or garden area, but can be trained and maintained to fit a desired setting. Bougainvillea can also be used in containers and trained as a shrub or sprawling groundcover.
Special Uses/Attributes: Because of bougainvillea’s woody habit and vigorous growth, these plants lend themselves very well to being manipulated and trained in a variety of ways. The most common, especially in tropical areas where plants are hardy, is to allow these plants to climb walls and trellises. This is the simplest way to display the wonderful blooms of bougainvillea.
They can also be used in hanging baskets with minimal care. Because these plants don’t have tendrils, they do need some manipulating, but as a hanging basket plant, no training is needed. Bougainvillea also make fantastic topiaries. Since they are so fast growing, it is easy to create tall topiary plants with minimal effort. On a smaller scale, bougainvillea can make stunning bonsai specimens. This takes time over the course of many years, but with relentless pruning some unique bonsai can be made.
Florida Native: No