Saturday, December 3, 2011

Bougainvillea goes to Town

 Over the past three summers in Kansas I've planted these Texas purchased bougainvilleas in the garden. Two are five years old, one is red and the other orange flowered. Another was given to me by my mother last fall. When I lived in San Antonio they were some of my favorite container plants but were somewhat persnickety when it comes to producing blooms. I researched many different methods to produce blooms and discovered a few rules of thumbs for my particular growing zone in Kansas. They bloom more often when they are pot bound. Many landscape contractors will transplant the growing pot into the new pot and slit the growing pot down the sides to allow some root escape. They are heavy feeders , but  heavy nitrogen amounts will create more foliage than blooms (kinda like tomatoes). They seem to do very well in my compost enriched soil with no additional feeding. When moved from one growing condition to another they often take 3-4 weeks to recover and resume healthy growth. They must have full sun to bloom. They will do fine in partial shade but will not bloom as well if at all. And of course good drainage is important.
 The above photo is the orange flowering variety purchased at a Home Depot in Corpus Christi, Texas over five years ago in a #1 pot. Planted in the hell strip, it gets full sun surrounded by asphalt and concrete on two sides. These photos were taken November 13th before the big freeze. The tallest vines are 5-6' tall.
Here I am pruning the vines before transplanting and moving indoors. What a shame I suppose to cut those blooms.
Are you nuts, thinks my wife?
Many branch vines.
Time to root prune. Not much left there.
Pulled from soil in original pot from the spring planting, a 10-12" plastic one.
Surprised to see such small roots?
 Pruning roots before taking inside.
Looks like a bonsai doesn't it? This was three weeks ago and today the plant which is set in a west facing window is producing  a flush of new growth. I'll create a new post during planting time in the spring.  Which I wish was closer than it is. 
-Greg





32 comments:

  1. I'll tell you that looks more like a shrub or perennials than a vine, probably because you keep it cut back every year. Very pretty. The only bad part for me is having to dig up every year. I have to keep away from doing that now, but it sure is tempting as that is so beautiful.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  2. When I saw your title, I looked twice since you live in cold, cold Kansas. That's a very nice "bougie" you've managed to grow. Mine is still blooming, but we have a freeze coming on Tuesday so it may have to come inside for a day or two. In ground ones here in San Antonio have survived deep freezes and snow, but as you know, our cold doesn't last long.

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  3. It's so nice that you are enjoying your Bougainvillea all year round. Unfortunately winter is on its way but how wonderful is it that your plant is sprouting new growth! Enjoy!

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  4. that's a beautiful plant! love the color. i'm really impressed with how diligently you dig it and winter it over. i'm terrible with that, but you remind me it's worth it sometimes.

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  5. That sure makes the whole process easier...to put it in the ground still in the pot. I'm afraid I'm even too lazy for that, though! But good for you! That is an unusual colored one. Seems like I usually just see red or pink. We saw bougainvilleas in Mexico that were at least 30 feet tall, draped over water towers! I don't imagine they are still growing in their nursery pots :-)

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  6. I love the bougainvilleas. Looks like you are having great success with them!!! What a beautiful plant.

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  7. Cher-you could always keep it in a pot and bring inside.
    Shirley- When living in san antonio I used to take care of the church grounds where we attended. A retired IBM exec. planted a red variety near the entrance sign. Every winter it would lose it's leaves and I would question whether it would survive, but it always came back even stronger.

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  8. Lee-yes it is an enjoyable and stout specimen. Kind of funny to see it growing in the ground in Kansas.
    Daricia- thanks for visiting my blog. So many times I'll visit a nursery and have a impulse buy such as these. Sometimes I lose interest and let them perish. But for some reason I'll go the extra mile for "bougeys".

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  9. Toni-you might be surprised. I think these would have a "fit" in your late summer garden.
    Kacky- I'm sure you have some in your nursery. Unique plant.

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  10. More enterprising than me, Greg. I've always liked the looks of bougainvillea, but try to avoid planting things that I have to dig up every winter. Obviously, I also avoid dahlias and cannas for the same reasons, but I envy those with the energy to do either.

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  11. So do you treat it like a houseplant, or can it go dormant and be tucked into the basement corner and brought out next spring?

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  12. So do you treat it like a houseplant, or can it go dormant and be tucked into the basement corner and brought out next spring?

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  13. A very interesting how to~Thanks, gail

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  14. I love bougainvillea! It reminds me of mandevilla (another of my faves). We have recently moved to Bartlesville Oklahoma and it looks like you're not too far away so I can hopefully discover what plants might succeed here through your site. Thanks for the tips!

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  15. Prof- It was definitely a last minute to do.
    Les- I add it as a houseplant. Interesting question. I suppose if it stayed below 40 and above freezing it might stay dormant until you put it out in spring. I may try that someday.
    Gail- ever tried one? It's native to Brazil. lol.

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  16. Great idea Greg. The root pruning is the key. I love that flower and your wife must be happy they come inside to brighten indoors.

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  17. Very nice. Mine lives in a pot. Last summer, it got a bigger one, and really liked it.
    I trim it back, and put it in the garage over the winter. There is some natural light in there, but not enough for blooms.

    Could that be a bit of Cowboy Orange?
    Congrats on the win last night.

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  18. Wow - I'm very impressed! I have tried (and killed) a couple of bougianvilleas, even though I love them. Thanks for giving us your secrets. Next year I'm going to get one, and keep it in the pot in the ground! I'm still not into digging things up, being lazy and all, but I love them so much it might be worth it! But doesn't it have terrible thorns? In your pictures, you don't seem to mind them.

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  19. Donna-the bougey bloom is hard to beat, however they do not bloom as well indoors unless you have a greenhouse.
    Linda-yes that is cowboy orange. go pokes. poor sooners. lol.
    Holley-yeah they have thorns but not as bad as some roses. Not sure if it would be winter hardy in east texas. Full sun is needed for sure. You could plant some on those vertical timbers.

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  20. The whole time I was reading this I kept wondering how they survived your winters!! These are annuals here but if more people knew your tricks they might become perennials! Amazing that you get so much growth with such a small root ball! :o)

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  21. Ha! You had me, Greggo! I kept wondering like the others how in the world you kept it alive through the winter...they sometimes don't survive our winters! Great idea though. I'll have to file that away for some of the more tender plants I insist on keeping ;)

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  22. Hey Greggo you have the look of a man on a mission.

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  23. I am so jealous! I would love to grow bougainvillea in Seattle but they are just an annual for me and don't have quite enough punch to use in summer containers. (They seem to need time to settle in before they bloom like crazy). Love those colors.

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  24. I somehow pity those of you with winter, that you have to do a lot so that those bougainvilleas will not die. I said that because here they sometimes don't get attention, those in posts above grounds are just there and flower the whole year. We just prune them when they become too bushy or let the soil dry longer for them to bloom. Drought will induce them to bloom. When directly planted in the soil they get so big and unwieldy. I love the color orange, but i still prefer the all white, or the red and white in one plant.

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  25. What great timing Greggo - I have two Bougainvilleas that are about three years old and although thriving foliage wise (and size!!), no blooms for 3 years except a few at the top this year. They are in fact growing "out of control". I have never pruned them (didn't know I should) so I was about to dig them up and turf them out - then saw this post! Now I will follow your demo and pot them and put them on my back patio where they will get lots of sun - and see what they do. THANKS!!

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  26. I may have to try one of these. We sell them at work, so getting one would not be a problem. I put several tropicals in my basement for the winter and treat them poorly, making them go into a non-feezing dormancy. Perhaps it could work with a Bougainvillea. When I see pictures of some island cottage draped in the stuff, I always want to try one.

    Les @ A Tidewater Gardener

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  27. Who knew this would work? I have admired these plants in California. Great fun photos of you working Greggo.

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  28. im diggn all the flowers! look great

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  29. Greggo your work has really been appreciated by we all. Quite amazing features. And also, it is a surprise that from a small root plant of bougainvilleas how you possibly made it to a small garden .

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Thanks for leaving any comments, they are always welcomed. Sorry I had to add word verification as spam was becoming a huge problem. Greggo,