Bougainvillea help

My stepdaughter brought her dad a beautiful bougainvillea for his birthday and we are hoping we can find a way to make it survive. Our home is on the border of Zones 8 and 9 in North Central Florida but our particular spot is subject to have several hard freezes (temps often in the teens) every winter. Or we may go 2 years in a row with no freezes at all.

We don't know if it would be a good idea to plant it in the ground or just keep it potted up forever. Any experience/advice from gardener's who have kept one alive under similar circumstances?

I'm in a similar situation ~ just about right on the border between zones 8 and 9 ~ and have had more than one neighbor who's been successful at keeping their ground-planted bogie alive during winter. The one thing that they all do is put it on the south side of their house. One has theirs in a little sheltered spot up against their house and another just cuts theirs back, turns their deep wheelbarrow upside down over it and covers the whole thing with a couple of old tarps. They come back every year as gorgeous as ever!

BUT, since it's a birthday present, you might not want to take a chance. It'll do fine in a pot for years. Feed it hibiscus food and let it dry out to the point of wilting before you water it again. And give it LOTS of sun and heat ~ the more the better (think "Cactus weather").

Good luck!

This message was edited Monday, Jun 3rd 3:30 PM

and remember Amaryllisgal..............do not disturb the roots when repotting or planting, it will kill it fast! they hate to have their rots disturbed. and............do you know any great places to buy amaryllis inexpensively? Have you tried the cybister amaryllis?
thanks
Kelley

Thanks for the advice, Wingnut. Looks like I'll need to plan on keeping it potted up. Good excuse for going shopping at the garden center - we'll need a nice pot for it, right? LOL!

Kell, I'm ashamed to say that I don't know of any good amaryllis sources. A local grower gave me several dozen amaryllis "babies" years ago and they have multiplied like crazy. Between those, and the ones I've gotten in trades, I've never actually bought one! What is the cybister amaryllis? I'm not familiar with that...

Amaryllisgal.......they look like spiders. i saw them last year for the first time in a catalogue. I am going to try them this year. this nursery has one on its home page if you want to see what they look like.
http://www.aaronscanna-amaryllis.com/Amaryllis/rare1.html
i am also going to try Vallota bulbs which are similar I gather to Amaryllis and are evergreen unlike amaryllis. I just love big flower shows!
Kelley

Ahhh, yes Kell - I've seen this site before! I have a friend that badly wants a papillo, but I think she's had some kind of problem with ordering from Aaron's so she's hoping to get one by trade someday.

Take a look at my tradelist via my member page where I've posted a few amaryllis photos. I have over 14 different types, but most are unnamed and some have yet to bloom. They range in color from a pure white to a deep gorgeous red. Just wish they'd bloom all year long!