Growing Your Dream Garden: Caring for Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea flower

A gorgeous colorful and flowering plant, a bougainvillea can add a lot of bright color to your garden, while only taking minimal space.
 As an exceptionally diverse plant, you can grow your bougainvillea in a multitude of different ways, from a vine on a wall, to a trellis or topiary to a tree or bush. 
Bougainvillea are also known for being hardy and adaptable plants, perfect for a home garden.

With just a little knowledge, you can have your very own bougainvillea growing in no time.

Planting

The first step in planting your new bougainvillea is to take into consideration the climate you live in. If you live in an area that will have temperatures fall into the freezing range during the winter (32° to 40°F or lower), your best bet is to plant your bougainvillea in a pot and bring it indoors for the winter.

You can also protect your outside bougainvillea with frost clothes and other frost protectants, though if you have an especially cold winter, this may not do much to help your plant. If you end up planting in a container, you must make sure it has proper drainage, as the one thing a bougainvillea can’t tolerate is being left in standing water.

Bougainvillea

 Once you have determined if your bougainvillea will be in the ground or in a container, the next step is to decide how you want your plant to grow. As mentioned above, you can grow a bougainvillea into nearly any configuration you wish, simply train the vine on to anything you wish it to climb or prune the vine into more of a tree shape to make a tree. The possibilities are endless!

Light

As a native tropical plant, be sure your bougainvillea will be in an area where it will receive full sun.

Fertilizer

With so many flowers, a bougainvillea needs a lot of energy to support all of its blooms. Because of this, bougainvillea plants need to be fed every month during the growing season.
 The two most critical nutrients are nitrogen and phosphate, though too much of these can cause more green growth than flowering.
 If possible, having a small percentage of iron in the fertilizer can help promote vibrant flower colors.

Repotting

Unlike most plants, a bougainvillea enjoys a snug, root bound fit in its pot. Don’t be too overeager to repot your bougainvillea; most plants only need to be repotted every 2 or 3 years. 
You should only repot if the roots have almost totally replaced the soil and it is difficult to keep the plant watered.
 When you do repot, the new pot should only be slightly bigger than the original pot.

If you are looking for a bright, flowering plant for anywhere in your garden, you simply cannot beat the bougainvillea.
 With such versatility, you can make your bougainvillea into any configuration you can imagine, and because of its stellar disease and pest resistance, it won’t require any of your time. 
Have fun with your new bougainvillea and happy gardening!