Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Bougainvillea says Hawaii to me....., 1 by Happenstance

Happenstance wrote:
They are pretty aren't they?! Thanks to all of you.

This is a scanned snapshot from 1983 of one of my favorite Bougainvillea. Conditions were just right and I think that's about a year's growth. To the right of the image is a 6' fence to give you an idea of the size of the plant.

I'm not a Bougainvillea expert by any means and they can be tempermental. A few things I have learned/practiced in my experiences with them:

Be very careful when planting them. They do NOT like their roots disturbed and being too rough when unpotting or planting them can doom them from the start.

Find the place you want to try it and don't be tempted to move them around (again, they don't like their roots disturbed). It can sometimes take a couple of years to get them established and then once they are settled in they pretty much take care of themselves.

All the experts say to plant them in full sun, but I have the one in my current garden growing in dappled shade all day because I wanted it to climb up among the palm trees. It also needs protection from our strong winds and is doing just what I wanted it to do, but would certainly be more robust and bloom more profusely if it was in a sheltered space against a south facing wall. (I just don't happen to have that situation in this garden.)

Mine is watered just like everything else and as long as the soil is well drained, I've never had a problem with too much water. It is also given the same feeding regimen as the rest of the garden: commercially packaged manure a couple times a year spread throughout the garden, top dressed with cocoa hulls. When I am watering/feeding the potted plants and the Staghorn Ferns http://plantsdatabase.com/showpicture/23882/ I sometimes give it a bucket of fish emulsion if I remember. It is in the ground here in 9b and there is sometimes a little die back at the tips of branches, but that is probably from being beaten about in the wind in the winter.

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Lilypon - the lattice covered patio would work for you I think! It has its own chiminea, a swing, lots of plants and easy access to the rest of the garden. Just let me know. :-)

a- n-g - don't know what it is, came untagged. The bracts are orange when forming and turn pink and pinker as they open and age.

sundry - I don't see why it wouldn't.....but I've never gardened in LA so I'm not sure. Are you talking about tree squirrels or ground squirrels? Not that it matters, I have nothing but disdain for these rats in disguise. I'm an animal lover by nature, but draw the line when it comes to ground squirrels and pocket gophers. They are rodents and rodents are NOT a good thing.

monterey - We lived in Citrus Heights years and years ago, while we waited for our house on the American River to be built. The climate is very similar to the climate here in Clayton. You can certainly grow Bougainvillea and many of the same things I do!