Bougainvillea? Anyone in my neck of the woods?

I'm thinking about trying to grow a tree form Bougainvillea outside year round. Plant files say their good to 20 degrees which is fine for where I am. I have a fairly protected spot that's dry and gets sun from about 11 am till sun down. From what I read that seems to be good growing conditions for a Bougainvillea. What I'm looking to end up with is maybe a 10ft by 10 ft tree.

Anyone have success with what I'm trying to do?

I have no experience with what you are proposing but you reminded me of a bonsai bougy I saw this morning. What looks like driftwood is actually the trunk of a very old tree.
It was knocked over a while back and the tin can was put there to hold it up until it re-rooted. The owner says the can probably could be removed now.

Hope someone chimes in on your bougy tree idea, it sounds interesting.

My bougainvilleas are 6 years old and I have them in very large pots. I do bring them into my GH during the winter months because I have always thought that did not live in temps below 40. They are tropical and I think they are OK outside year round in zones above 9.

You can train them into a tree shape but they do branch off in many different directions. I hope someone with more experience growing these beauties will help us out.

Also, I trim them back after I bring them inside during the winter. If you do repot them DO NOT disturbe the roots. This makes them very unhappy.

Hopefully, some of our Florida or Georgia gardeners will give us some advise.

I don't like to fool with pots so it's live or die outside. I'm trying to track down an orange or a white Bougainvillea trouble is I'm not sure if one variety or another does better with cold. This is what I was looking at http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2318/index.html. If it's really cold hardy to 20 degrees I would be fine but that may mean that the roots just don't die which would be a problem because I'll never get a tree form if it has to grow up from the ground every year. If I can find one around here I'm going to give it a try. Even if it grew back from the roots every year it still might be worth it for the flowers.

Looks like next spring I'll have a some reports about how a few tropicals do on the coast.

Why don't you just get several varieties and try them, maybe in different areas on your property and see what happens. I have found that the big box stores in Florida sell their plants, often the same ones we get, for far less $. What costs $15 to $20 here in our Lowe's will sell for about $4 at Fernandina Beach which is probably not much more than 2 hours from you. When we first bought this home we made frequent plant runs to northern FL. Of course, gas was not $3 a gallon back then. But, if you happen to be in the area.............

Sorry to be an enabler but I want someone to try this and see what happens. :-)))))

Yes you are being an enabler. I was just down in Orlando and I wish I had my idea better thought out at the time. LOL. I noticed them last year and thought I couldn't grow them and then I saw them again and started checking into it. That's what got me to this stage. My projects usually take 2 years, 1 year to figure out what I want and some research then another year for the plants to look like something.

Check out this info from Clemson Extension. Hope this will be of some help.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1553.htm

Is this the orange that you want? It came from Lowes several years ago.

Yes BSD that is about what I'm looking for. Thanks for the link.

Interesting question, CoreHHI! A few years ago, I'd have told you it was a crazy idea. Everyone knows Bouganvilleas are pure "tropicals"! Not so sure now. I had one ("Barbara Karst", I think) in the greenhouse for a couple of years, but it got out of hand, so two years ago I decided to move it outside for the summer. Easier said than done! The roots had grown through the bottom of the self-watering container into the greenhouse floor. Coudn't budge it, so I got a saw and sawed off the roots under the planter, sawed off all the limbs (so I could get it through the door of the greenhouse), and dumped it on the northwest corner of the greenhouse (not much sun). The dam thing grew! And flowered! About mid-summer it had gotten so big as to be a pain in the butt (blocking a "work path"---those thorns are pure nasty!), so I whacked it again, dumping the cuttings in a pile about 3' away. I fully intended to move that mess into the woods, but you know how that goes... Somehow, one of the cuttings rooted! I was so blown away, I just left it, figuring the winter would kill it. It didn't. It's back again this year! The mother plant is growing again this year, and so is that crazy "cutting"! They aren't very big at this point, but by the end of the summer...I'll try to get some pics for verification. Bouganvilleas ain't what they're said to be...

StonoRiver
I hope that you are saying to plant them outside. They are definately a pain in the b--- to move in and out of a greenhouse. You are right also in that they get bigger than life!! The deal about not disturbing the roots is also a joke. I had one the I had to cut the pot away from, I was so tired of being stuck with thorns that I just threw it in a larger pot with more potting soil and forgot it. Honestly, I think it made it grow faster. They are beautiful when they are blooming but I'd like to see them in a flowerbed.
Do you think that the cold temps just effects the foliage? Aren't they evergreens?

That's my observation so far, BSD---only the top growth seems hurt by cold weather. Roots seem to be able to handle our winter temps (I mulch heavily). But where I've (accidentally) situated the Bougie's, they may be benefiting from radiant/ground heat from the greenhouse during the winter Don't know. I've found the same phenomena with Barleria and Alamanda.(not near the greenhouse)..roots seem to remain ok,. but top growth disappears. Flowering is hit-and-miss on the latter, though...

Got a Barbara Karst today, it's a purple one. Still looking for an orange one and I have a couple of people tracking one down for me. Now the exciting part, waiting for winter to see if it makes through to the spring. LOL.

Wonder if this is going to grow like crazy this summer?

Forgot to say someone at sunshine nursery has seen a Bougainvillea living outside at the crown plaza on Hilton Head. That's right on the ocean but I may beable to pull this off. I need to go look around the hotels and see what all they have growing.

theres on inside the wexford shopping area thing near wendy's and pino gelato on HHI's south end. it got HUGE and it is a nice hot fuschia color. we were gonna try some out near our mailbox, but we put mandevilla and purple lantana. i go into Shipyard a lot, and i havent seen one growing out there... the only thing that surprised me was the s. nicolai and dracaena fruticosa.

Corey, how deep are you pockets this week???? I stopped at the Greenery (by Home Depot) this afternoon and they have a gorgeous and TALL pale orange bougainvilla. I bet it is between 3' & 4' tall from the soil line. Down side, $72.00. They also had a hanging basket with pale orangy pink flowers for $21.00.

Also, I don't know if you ever get up this way but Mother Earth Nursery has hanging baskets in what looks, from the car, like a darker orange.

(Go see that one at the greenery, I think you need it.) ;-))))

The greenery by home depot is one of the places I have looking for an orange one. I had a big discussion with them about what I was trying to do and what I wanted. Wonder if that is meant for me? $72 is more than I want to pay for something that may not work out. I haven't gotten a call yet but they wrote down my request in their request book so that may be there because of me. LOL. The most I've ever paid for a plant is $125 a piece for a couple of 6ft DD blanchard magnolias. 8 years later they're about 30 ft tall and people said I would be dead by the time they got big.

An after thought. The one thing about living around Hilton Head is its a double edge sword. Finding things cheap isn't easy but on the other hand I can walk into a shop or nursery, whatever and ask for something, days later it appears. The greeney is the most expensive around here BTW. Let's see if that Bougainvillea is sold before I get to it. I'll go Sunday and see what's up. I got the barbara karst for $13 at sunshine nursery its about 2 ft tall not very developed. I'm betting the one at the greenery is full on, big and wide.

This one is tall rather than wide. They have it on a wooden trellis and there are a number of main branches that go straight up and then drape over. They also had them in other colors.

You are right, The Greenery is expensive but I was having my car serviced across the street and I needed a birthday gift so I stopped in there and bought some others herbs for a mixed container for the gift and that bougy nearby really caught my eye.

Whoever told you DD Blanchard would not be a fast grower didn't know what they were talking about. That is one of it's selling points.