Bouganvilla help

Hi! few months ago i potted 2 bouganvilla by the entry way of our home. They are so pretty! But one of them (barbara karst) is growing much faster than the other and i am wondering if it is getting too big for it's pot. I would like to plant it in the ground when it's time but am not sure on the best location for it or how long it can stay in the pot. Any tips?

If you want to keep it in a pot for a while longer but it's getting too big for it, I'd consider potting it up to the next largest size of pot. Be careful not to disturb the roots too much though--I've heard that they can be tricky to transplant because of that (although I've personally never had trouble transplanting them even when I wasn't particularly gentle with the roots). Some people who live in colder climates keep them in pots permanently so they can bring them in or put them in a greenhouse over the winter.

Typically Bougainvilleas will perform quite well being pot-bound. They bloom much heavier when the roots are rather constricted. They will need regular water. Here is some info for you.

http://www.bgi-usa.com/bougainvillea-resource/bougainvillea-101.php

I think they can be tolerant of a range of conditions--I had always heard that they liked it on the dry side & not a lot of fertilizer, so that's how I always treated mine and they did just fine, bloomed well, etc. But I've also heard of people who watered & fertilized them regularly and they also do fine so they must not be all that particular.

thanks for the info....very informative link :)

just thought i would share a pic :o)

Hey Liz, I just meant if you have a fairly large blooming Boug in a rather smaller container it is liable to dry out more quickly, so, you need to remember to water it more than you would one in a large container or in the ground, barring rain. You often see them in Bonsai form and mine are in hanging baskets.

Oh, sorry...guess I misunderstood what you were saying. I have seen a lot of people post though that they water theirs quite regularly and they still do fine, so I think you can have luck with them if you keep them dry or if you keep them a little wetter (not too wet of course!)

No problem..I learned my lesson about water, fertilizer and Bougs...my first one was in the ground with regular watering and twice a month liquid fertilizer...by Fall it had canes over 15 feet long, thorns nearly an inch long, thick green growth and not a single bloom....it completely ate the trellis.Grin

Now they get water when they are dry and a little compost/compost tea or fish emulsion in the spring to give them a boost. They grow slower, but bloom their heads off. Some things thrive best with a little gentle neglect.

Glad the link was helpful Julil81.

That's how I treated mine too except I never even bothered with the compost/fish emulsion. Unfortunately my current house is in a slightly colder microclimate than my last one and they don't survive my winters anymore--makes me sad since they were always a favorite of mine!