CLIMBERS > BOUGAINVILLEA
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BOUGAINVILLEA GUIDES
If you ’re looking to summate an blowup of color to your greenhouse or garden borders during summer , tropic Bougainvillea , with its bright unripened leaves and vivid Battle of Magenta bract , might just be the staring choice .
This South American evergreen crampon favours a fond climate and will struggle to survive rime , so if grow outside in the UK , it must be brought inside during wintertime .
develop it in a pot or container will allow you sufficient command of its environment for it to flourish .
Alternatively , a heated greenhouse provides the idealistic surround for a Bougainvillea to flourish , being warm and with unmediated sun protected by glass .
You could also grow the plant exclusively inside , in a ardent conservatory or on a cheery windowsill , and attach it to a trellis for support as it rise .
Whilst it may not be the easiest plant to uprise – with the right noesis , there ’s no reason your home or garden ca n’t be filled with beautiful Bougainvillea prime every summertime .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height4 – 8 grand
Spread1 – 1.5 thousand
Bloom TimeJune – September
PreferredMost Soil Types
MoistureMoist but well run out
pHNeutral / Acidic
Bougainvillea is a tropical vine that is aboriginal to Central and South America , let in Peru , Brazil and Argentina , and is intend to have been first introduced to Europe in the former 19th Century.1Bougainvillea mintage . ( n.d . ) . Oxford University Plants . Retrieved March 13 , 2023 , fromhttps://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/Profiles/ab/Bougainvillea
These days , it is originate in many warm climate around the world , from Florida to Greece .
Bougainvillea is characterised by bright green foliation , with arc , black - tilt spine and tiny white flowers found at the core of the colourful flower .
These sought - after vivid blooms are really newspaper publisher - thin bracts ( colored leaves ) .
provide it has plenty of sunlight , the plant will re - flower several times during a UK summer , degenerate its bract each time .
bract are most unremarkably found in ghost of pink , Battle of Magenta and purple , although many other colour also exist , including white , icteric , orange , red , and two - intone variety .
Common Varieties
Larger variety of Bougainvillea can reach up to 10 m tall with support and 10 m panoptic if turn as a ground cover .
There are also nanus cultivars that are unconvincing to top 1 m grandiloquent or wide .
Of the 18 specie of Bougainvillea that exist , only a couple are commonly cultivate and grown in the UK .
A good one to look for is ‘ Barbara Karst ’ , which has undimmed Battle of Magenta bract and is one of the hardiest smorgasbord , most probable to succeed in a UK climate .
Low - growingB. glabraandB. buttiana(a hybrid ) are two of the best choices for hanging baskets and container .
Habitat & Growing Conditions
Bougainvillea ’s natural home ground is the tropical and sub - tropic , coastal area of Central and South America .
In these surround , the plant receive lots of sunlight , and benefit from eminent temperatures and humidity .
In warmer climates , Bougainvillea will flower much year - rotund , not just in summer .
Plant Care
Bougainvillea should be planted , or , if necessary , re - potted , in former spring .
We recommend planting in a container , with plenty of room for the root system .
Bougainvillea grows in nutrient - rich soil , in domain with plenty of place to fit its ancestor system ( which can be quite important on a turgid variety ) .
It prefer a drier soil with good drain , as too much pee can have the root to moulder , and it does well in catamenia of drought .
As the plant is aboriginal to coastal domain , it also has a higher - than - average tolerance to salt .
Bougainvillea favour a slenderly acidic soil and needs plentifulness of food .
Use a well - moulder compost and a loam - ground fertiliser , such as John Innes .
The plant command full sunlight ( at least 6 time of day a twenty-four hour period ) , although it should be protected by glass from direct light during summertime .
It also take heating system – you should place it outdoors only in late natural spring and summer .
Otherwise , keep it indoors or in a greenhouse , ensuring the temperature of its surroundings stays above 10 ° C .
Bougainvillea does not have a mellow water requirement .
You should irrigate it regularly whilst it ’s growing ( when the territory part to feel teetotal ) , but once matured , a thorough watering every 2 - 3 weeks during spring and summer should be enough .
employ pH - neutral rainwater and tot a gamey - potassium melted plant provender to further blooming , if necessary .
Be careful not to over - water , as this will cause the plant to replace flowers with an abundance of green leave-taking and can also precede to root rot .
Once the unfolding menses is over , around September , the plant will go into winter quiescency , and should only be watered very occasionally – although abstain from go away it all dried out for a long period of time , and water immediately if it start to wilt .
Support
In order for a potted Bougainvillea to thrive indoors , you will need to tie it to a treillage , or another support system of rules .
If you have planted your new Bougainvillea in a container , and you want it to grow upwards , you need to provide it with the support of a trellis .
This should be inserted into the land when you pot your Bougainvillea , to avoid equipment casualty to the roots at a later date .
grade the trellis behind the grow plant and use plant tie beam to slackly bond the vines to it , approximately every 30 cm .
Keep adding more ties as the plant grows – check that you tie them tightly enough to stop up the weighty branches .
When it reach maturity , it will be ‘ cultivate ’ and will not command further ties , unless you wish to alter the commission of ontogenesis .
Pruning
rationalise your Bougainvillea is essential to advance young ontogeny and flowering .
The best meter to prune is in tardy wintertime / early outpouring – the end of February is usually about right .
The aim is to prune before the raw twelvemonth ’s maturation begin in March , as this will ascertain your flora is in the best possible office to blossom .
Take this chance to re - shape your Bougainvillea , removing any discredited or perverse branch , and setting it up for how you want it to grow .
specify overall crop to a level best of 50 % of the plant life , and always hold out gardening mitt when pruning , to protect yourself from the pricker .
As well as this severe pruning prior to the maturate season , you may also undertake a lighter pruning after each blooming in summer .
This will encourage a second , or even third moving ridge of bracts before the season is out .
Common Problems
The most uncouth problem that occur with Bougainvillea is wilting and foliage drop , as a result of it being exposed to too modest temperatures .
Prevent this by bringing the works inside during the winter month , and ensuring the wall temperature does n’t degenerate below 10 ° C .
Other than that , Bougainvillea is generally fairly hardy – it can survive with limited water , and there are not many diseases that are specific to it .
It may , however , yield to some general pests , such as whitefly , aphid and red spider mite .
Whitefly can be a particular concern as they favour a warm climate , such as the one you ’ll be providing for your Bougainvillea .
seeable sign of whitefly include the tiny lily-white bug themselves , the glutinous honeydew substance they produce , and the black mould which develops as a result of the honeydew melon .
An infestation can be verify biologically , by introducingEncarsia Formosa(parasitoid WASP ) to the environment , or by using an organic insecticide , as Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly explains in more item :
“ Biological control are intimately inaugurate at planned interval rather than as a reaction to plague .
“ It will take prison term for the parasitic insect to build up in reply to the increased population of whitefly .
“ Infestations are considerably control with constitutional insecticide with biological restraint infix once the whitefly is under ascendancy .
“ Definitely do n’t spray after you have introduced parasitic insect as this will belt down both the hunter and the hunted . ”
Overwintering
Bougainvillea favours a warm climate and does not do well in temperature below freezing ( or temperature under 10 ° atomic number 6 ) .
Therefore , if left alfresco unprotected , it may not survive a UK wintertime – or at least , it could suffer significant harm .
To protect a Bougainvillea from rime , you should ideally grow it in a container , that you may move inwardly in fall , beforethe first Robert Lee Frost of the year .
seek to find your industrial plant a gracious spot in a gay hothouse or porch , where it can remain until winter is over .
If you ’re originate Bougainvillea in your garden , there are still steps you could take to essay to protect it from frost .
supervise the conditions forecast , and if a rime is expect , get across your Bougainvillea with a blanket or credit card tack .
Use interest to verify it does n’t equal the industrial plant , but rather hangs over it like a protective tent . Remove the concealment once the temperature originate .
