Bougainvillea, Florida Gardening
Bougainvillea is named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville, a French scientist, lawyer and explorer whose name also graces an island in the South Pacific. Its bracts have a showy beautiful variety of colors that stand out from the crowd, and make it popular in landscaping design.
The papery leaves are called bracts, and flowers are in many different colors, including magenta, pink, purple, red, salmon, variegated, white and yellow. The bracts which surround the tiny white flowers are three sided and provide a protective enclosure. It is also referred to as paper flower. The branches have spiky thorns and may grow from 3 to 40 feet.
There are dwarf bougainvillea, shrubs and vines. The dwarf variety is slow growing and the shrub and vine are fast growing. You may trim and train the tender spiky thorn vine into the form you prefer like bonsai, as a houseplant, fence, hedge, hanging basket, or over archways.
Bougainvillea is a native to South America. It likes hot sunny weather and is sensitive to frost. It is drought tolerant once it has established its root system, and does not like a lot of watering. The speed of growth and the season for flowering are dependent on the variety and the region planted. It blooms year round in the equatorial region; also it is popular for ornamental bonsai because of their beautiful and colorful bracts.
It can be easily propagated from cuttings. It is best to select when in bloom, so that you know it is the color you wanted.
Florida Gardening related posts:
Allamanda – Florida Gardening
Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) – Florida Gardening
Oleander, Poisonous Plants
Gardenia as White as Snow
Hibiscus Flowers
Ixora – Florida Gardening
Crown of Thorns (not much care is needed for COT)
Gorgeous Angel’s Trumpet (Datura) is a Poisonous Flower
Bougainvillea, Florida Gardening
If you have questions about your Florida homes gardening in Sarasota County, just call 941-716-3090 or email me for some tips.
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