Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. (and hybrids)

boo-gan-VILL-ee-ah speck-TAB-ah-lis

Nyctaginaceae

Explanation of name: Generic name from L. A. de Bougainville (1729-1811), French seafarer

Natural range: South America

Recognition: Easily recognized shrubs to scrambling vines with long sharp thorns and brightly colorful, usually purplish (or white or pink or orange) “flowers” (the bright color is in the floral bracts; the flowers are inconspicuous and narrowly tubular).

Landscape uses: Among the most-used landscape shrubs-to-scrambling vines where masses of bright color are desired. Bougainvilleas are ubiquitous in warm-climate horticulture. They generally need support (or form mounds) and tend to produce long water sprouts. The plants are often affixed to arches, trellises, pergolas, and such structures. They can be trained as standards, and grown in containers.

Bougainvillea glabra Choisy in DC. is a comparatively modest species, slower-growing and not as aggressive as the more familiar B. spectabilis and its many cultivars and hybrids. Bougainvillea glabra potentially flowers all year. Bougainvillea spectabilis is stimulated to flower by dry conditions. Keep moist during rapid growth and  keep “just moist” (HUX) during the winter months.  Excess water will inhibit flowering.