Bougainvillea Bougainvillea A love blog about bougainvillea.

Here's one for the ages... of all the bougainvillea varieties and colors out there, which color turns the most heads? In YOUR opinion, which is the greatest show stopper?  We're providing you with a list of varieties, go visit then come back and comment below!

1. Ambiance - Bougainvillea
2. Barbara Karst - Bougainvillea
3. Elizabeth Angus - Bougainvillea
4. Flavored ICE Series - Bougainvillea
5. Helen Johnson - Bougainvillea
6. Imperial Delight - Bougainvillea
7. Lady Baring - Bougainvillea
8. Miami Pink - Bougainvillea
9. Miss Alice - Bougainvillea
10. New River - Bougainvillea
11. Silhouette - Bougainvillea
12. Sundown Orange - Bougainvillea
13. Vera Deep Purple - Bougainvillea

This seems to be one topic many people cannot get enough of... I believe it's 3 parts psychological, 1 part unknowing.  You see, the concept of pruning and pinching bougainvillea is about as old as bougainvillea itself.  But even as the years elapse, many still don't understand why or how to prune bougainvillea.

The psychological aspect is rather simple to explain: the brains ineptitude to exercise harm, knowingly, is difficult to execute.  No one wants to grab shears and hack away at a plant for fear of hurting it or worse, destroying it.  But the truth is, is if you want to maximize your bougainvilleas ability to bloom, pinching is essential. Pinching bougainvillea produces leaf-buds, and leaf-buds produce new growth, and bougainvillea only bloom on new growth.

One prunes in order to  contain growth.  If you like a wild & outward growth, don't prune. If you like a contained, stronger growth then consider pruning your bougainvillea on a set schedule.

The video below, will teach you how to prune your bougainvillea:


Wait a minute? How do I pinch bougainvillea?  Ahh... you are a sharp student.  We do not have a video for you at this time, however, we do have some high-resolution images and a succinct set of instructions on how to pinch your bougainvillea.

Enjoy!

A trellis is an architectural structure, usually made from interwoven pieces of wood, bamboo or metal that is often made to support climbing plants. There are many types of trellis for different places and for different plants, such as sweet peas, grapevines, ivy, bougainvillea, and climbing roses or other support based growing plants.

To create your own bougainvillea trellis, we recommend using wood or woven-wood.  The reason we suggest wood is because a metal trellis will get very hot and stunt the growth of the bougainvillea.  Remember, bougainvillea need lots of sunlight.  Sunlight on metal = hot.

To begin, put one or multiple bougainvillea plants per pot to create your own bougainvillea trellis.  Place the trellis structure toward the back of the plant, and tie up the branches to the trellis using tie tape to establish "tie points".

That's it! Bougainvillea are vine and will use the trellis you provide it to encroach and grow.  Bougainvillea can grow from 1 - 12 meters tall.  The time it takes to make a bougainvillea trellis all depends on how tall of a trellis you are making, the time of year, the variety, AND the quality of care and maintenance that you give it.

To make them flower all along the trellis, just remember to trim/pinch after each bloom cycle all along the plant and not just at the top.

Consider using BOUGAIN®, a specially formulated bougainvillea fertilizer.

2010 is already ending with a cold "BANG"!  So what are you going to do about your precious bougainvillea?


Here are some quick tips on "winterizing bougainvillea".

• Bring them Indoors - If you have planted your bougainvillea in the soil outdoors and want to dig it up and move it indoors for the winter, expect the plant to go into dormancy sooner than if it had been in a container -- the root damage as a result of digging will be the cause rather than the cool weather -- but the plant should survive this kind of transplanting.
  
• Hard Prune - it's recommended you do a hard prune before bringing them indoors. Bougainvillea is a vine and new growth (after a prune) starts one or more leafbuds below the cut and not up and down the entire branch. By doing a "hard" prune, next spring, when the plant regrows it will be fuller from the base up.
  
• Plant in a Container - Generally, bougainvillea can be grown in anything that will hold soil and allow proper drainage. Some of the more traditionally used containers include terra cotta (clay) pots, plastic pots, hanging baskets, wire baskets lined with sphagnum moss or fibrous liners, concrete planters, planter boxes, and bushel baskets. Just remember that the container MUST have proper drainage.

Be the envy of your neighborhood with landscaping that makes a bold statement.

Bougainvillea is probably one of the most often desired plants that can add color to any landscape and make it vibrant with life.  Bougainvillea vines bear flowers during the spring-summer seasons and has a tropical flora characteristic with exotic colors that effortlessly add beauty (and awe) to any landscape.



Bougainvillea can grow in almost any soil, because they are a true xeriscape plant.  This makes it an ideal choice for landscaping, particularly for those that aren't green thumbs or simply do not have the time to upkeep their gardens.  Check out the "best climate for bougainvillea".

Like all tropical plants, bougainvillea require a lot of sunlight (or a light-level of at least 4000 f.c.).  The more light, the more vibrant the yield of color.  You can also add a bougainvillea fertilizer specially formulate to boost growth, color, and bloom.