Bougainvillea how fast does it grow

When establishing, be sure to give your bougainvillea regular water. Can Bougainvillea grow in pots? Bougainvillea performs well in a relatively small container where its roots are slightly restricted. When the plant is large enough for repotting, move it to a container only one size larger.

Use a regular potting soil without a high level of peat moss; too much peat retains moisture and may result in root rot. How do you keep bougainvillea blooming? Bougainvillea growers often withhold water for extended periods to force the plant into bloom. To stimulate blooming this way, withhold all water until the leaves begin to wilt. Then water thoroughly. For regular maintenance, water only when the soil is dry but before leaves show signs of stress. Can I use Miracle Grow on bougainvillea?

With high light and constant feeding, the plants will bloom at least 11 months of the year. How can I make my bougainvillea grow faster? To encourage flowering in home gardens, bougainvilleas belong in full sun and fast-draining soil.

Slow-release fertilizer or regular applications of or fertilizer will nourish bougainvilleas, but over-fertilizing can slow growth. Are bougainvillea poisonous to dogs? Bougainvillea is classified as mildly toxic to dogs. The most common side effect of a dog eating bougainvillea are gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Call a veterinarian if your dog experiences ill effects after eating any plant. Is bougainvillea a shrub or climber? Some bougainvilleas are shrubs.

Thanks, Debbie. If you need to move it, then try cutting it free. I live in south Australia and have a wild bougainvillea. As far as I can tell there are 2 one meter sucker trees growing in a really awkward spot , 3 smaller trees which have been cut back at some time and 3 original trees which are full of spines and are rampant. Any advice on how to tame this mess.

I would like 3 beautiful plants that can be trained as a screen. Alternatively, should I rip the whole lot out? I ended up taking the 3rd one out. The easiest route would be to take them out or have someone do it! Also, you could get the color s that you want. Hi Nell You have a great site. Tks My question is if I leave the plant in the 7 gallon plant container made of a plastic like material and will never disintegrate in the ground.

Hi John — Thanks! I always plant bougainvilleas in their plastic grow pots. Hi Nell. Fantastic site. So I just purchased two Barbara Karsts — one in a 5 gallon and one in a 2 gallon container. They look beautiful, but my concern is that they are only a few feet apart and I have read that there should be feet of spacing. Will they be ok being so close together or should I move one of them into a pot? They are planted against a fence with no other plants, trees or foliage by them.

Thank you. My question — is this a bad idea? Will it be likely to harm the oak? Hi — Thank you so much! I would think that spring would be best. Hi Nell, I love your page. Very informative. We dip into the upper 20s on the colder winter days with some light dusting of frost on those evenings.

Basically a living fence to replace an ugly, dilapidated wooden fence that is falling down. Any tips on variety, care and spacing is greatly appreciated. Hi Dave — Thank you! You should be able to grow Bougainvillea but you might be right on the line of being too cold. And, some are more cold tolerant than others. The root system could have been less developed than the others. Bougies can be slow to take off so give that 1 some time. The first winter it got hit w a freeze, followed by half the flowers it had originally.

Next year, it had stalks and few flowers, and now green stalks only. I cut back the stalks once a year. Nothing good seems to be happening. I planted 6 San Diego Red plants I live in the west San Fernando Valley so it gets really hot. It immediately dried up and went brown. I put one plant in the middle of a 10 ft space attached to wire.

Im starting to see some new growth, but I have several questions:. Is one plant enough for this 10 ft space? How long will it take to fill in? Is this enough? Should I string more? I put bamboo sheeting behind the wire to provide a little privacy. I was considering using a colored corrugated steel for a better look. Will this burn the plants in the extreme heat? I waited 2 weeks and then fertilized with a bougainvillea fertilizer, then again a month later yesterday.

Should I be? How much should I water right now? Close to or above Degrees Fahrenheit everyday. If the pot is too small, it could be potbound. Mine in Santa Barbara they never froze so they showed color 9 months out of the year. We need it as a ground cover. What do you suggest we use and what variety? Nell, We are in Southern California. We planted a red bougie on the slope behind our barn. It is growing well but is now blooming white.

Why the color change? Thanks Nell for responding so quickly. I will check into the varieties you mentioned. I probably will need additional ground cover to fill in. Thinking possibly of Asian jasmine vine or who knows.

We just want to fill in our slope as quickly as possible- it looks pretty bad, and the neighbors across the street have to look at it. We once had nice ivy there — oh well! The hybrids go through a lot of breeding so perhaps that has something to do with it.

Nelly We have a five bougies. Half approximately of one plant the leaves curled up like under stress. Difficult to pull off.

Even some blossom but deteriorating. The other half of the plant not many blossoms but leaves look healthy. The plant is in the ground not potted, and approximately diameter. It receives 2 gallons of water three times a week from drip system. To much water? Fertilized plant every month.

What to do? Cut back on water? Thank you Peter Hamper. Hi Pete — Curling leaves on bougainvilleas are usually do to insect infestations or something with the watering. Also, I never fertilized them. I shaped it and noticed a few red flowers from time to time. Then it hit me that this was a bougainvillea, duh. On sage advice of neighbors, I cut the hedge back to a single stalk and ever since it has been stunning, bursting forth year around in bloom.

Hi there — I also live in SB and just got two boug. I ordered one purple and one orange and wanted to grow them together. When the plants arrived one was purple but the other seems to be mostly red with a bit of pink. Thanks, Renee. Plan is to transfer it into a larger plastic container. Should I keep it in the original 1-gallon pot and cut off the bottom of that pot then set it into the larger container?

I have one of those old-fashioned iron T-pole style clothes-line and planned to train the vine up one of the poles. Thanks for any ideas. I used to live in Berkeley in the s. Hort were my fav nurseries back then. Hi, I live in Deya, Mallorca, Spain in a house that is about years old.

Part of the front wall of the house is covered with this magnificent bougainvillea. There is a stone 7cement covere patio and there is a 3 foot empty spot right next to the side of the house through which the major trunk grows. Lately, many of the bougainvilleas leaves have turned yellow and brittle and are starting to fall off and week by week there are fewer purple flowers.

We water the plant regularly every 2 or 3 days. I should mention that we have lived in this house for 15 years and this is the first year that we have had this problem. Patrick Kelly. Hi Jeff — I know right where Pacifica is because I just got back from there 3 weeks ago! Those suckers that you see on your bougainvillea are water shoots. I also bought way too many plants! Make sure the larger pot has drain holes as they need good drainage.

Also, you can plant your BK slightly at an angle going towards the T-pole which will help you in the training. Watering yours every days is too much. If you have to water them, do it deeply every weeks depending on the weather. The heat generation off the house leaves it a hotbox, and the afternoon sun is maybe hours. Would a Bougainvillea do ok on a trellis not exceeding 4 ft up the brick chimney? There is some brick issues on the bottom, I thought I could masked.

I am so tired of replacing plants, and I have always had Boug-ies. Thanks for your advice in advance. I had no idea. Nell and everybody — I love Bougainvillea, but every day I clean the leaves out of our pool. Hi Laura — As I said in the post, bougainvilleas are tough as can be but big babies when it comes to their roots. Bougies love hot sun. Be sure to give it deep waterings to get it established.

I have 6 plants in their grow pots with the bottoms removed, in 3 wooden tubs with soil covering the pots. The trunks are quite large, and I fear they are root bound. Do I need to worry? Hi Beverly — Bougainvillea can grow tight in a pot for a few years. The larger the plant is getting, the more root space it needs. I was wondering what you think about planting my Bougies against galvanized steel sheeting. Will it get too hot and burn my plants?

Also, they love a nice, rich organic compost. Hi Cheryl — It depends on where you are. I live in Alabama. My bogs are beautiful this year. They are planted in the ground. How can I keep them through the winter. Thanking you in advance for your help. Debbie Wilson. Neil, Thanks for all your info and replying to my posts. My Bougies seem to be having their leaves being nibbled on, and it seems to not be getting worse.

I must have not noticed this, when I bought them at HD last week. Can I spray them with a dish soap and water mist to kill whatever this is, or is Neem Oil better? I prefer a more natural approach.

There was a warning from HD about a residue from their care. I bought a plant thinking it was varigated ivy. Hi Edie — Yes, there are about 15 varieties of variegated bougainvilleas that I know of.

Sounds like you have a bougainvillea. This is my first year with this plant absolutely love it. But here is my question I live in Otawa, Canada and would like to bring it indoors until next spring can I cut it back before or should I wait until next spring. It has bloomed twice already and I also have another one different colour that is just starting to bloom again when is the best time to cut it back to give it shape! I have bought some seeds white, yellow and blue Bouganvillea what is the best way to plant these ….

I live in Ottawa Ontario Canada I love the two plants that I currently have and can u make cuttings for another plant or is seed the best way? Neil, I enjoy reading your site. We have a duplex and very little landscape area to plant.

I am wanting to plant some bouganvillea in our front bed faces East. Is this a good time to plant. Beds are lots of sand and landscape gravel. We like a variety of color. Hi Bill — I recently moved to Tucson so I know what you mean about the temps. And, spring is the best time for that. Give it as much light as you can. Hi Nell from India…I loved your blog about bougs. Hey I got a Boug cutting with light orange flowers for my pot one year back.

Now I has started developing branches but the branches run in all the directions spreading away from each other. Can you please help me in managing them. I have kept the pot near a grill which is 4 feet in height on the top floor. If you want to take the branches in, you can always do it gradually. Bougies flower on new growth. All the best, Nell. What if the pots are plastic. Still plant them with the pot? Just curious since the pot will never degrade.

Is this ok? Just make sure you put good-sized slits in the pot so the roots can grow out. Sherika — The best time to incorporate the trellis is at planting time. Do bougainvilles thorns exude an irritant?

My bougainville is over 50 years old and still going strong, When I prune I always forget to wear gloves I usually cut myself on a thorn and it hurts for days. Could you possibly tell me what the variety is in your picture that has almost yellow leaves with dark reddish bracts that you have pictured.

My dog dug up my bougainvilleas roots on the one side, and literally chewed part of it off. Is this plant going to die now? Is there anything I can do to help it or repair the damage and or encourage it to keep growing? Please help. Hi Beth — My bougies get by them every year too.

Water your bougainvillea deeply as needed to encourage new root growth. Are the planting instructions the same for here? I was thinking voles or such were sucking the roots dry. Do you think the roots could grow through that? I have successfully killed about 6 plantings of six plants each from to when I had a stroke — none have survived so far.

Barbara Karst was my last try. Any suggestions? I have a beautiful ones which is in a pot, outside in a very sunny position and doing very well. My question is- when the cold weather and frosts come in Dec-Feb, should I bring the plant indoors?

Or would it prefer to be outside but slightly sheltered? Hi Lynn — Greetings neighbor! I have 4 bougainvilleas growing at my new home here in Tucson. My bougies do fine so no voles here. I can tell you that the roots should be able to grow through the cages just fine. Just make sure to leave the bougies in their grow pots make big slits in the pots so the roots can grow out when planting them — they are big babies when it comes to having their roots disturbed.

If the temps dip below freezing, then yes, you should bring it indoors for those months. The roots can freeze. Hi Nell, Thank you for sharing all your Boug intell……. I have made a lot of mistakes in the past and do not want to continue that pattern so I started looking for info and found you: I am moving into a home in Southern CA and I have no idea how to handle an extremely mature , overgrown, slumpted over, beautiful blooming bougainvillea.

It is so overgrown that it has fallen over a walkway path to the point I have to crawl under it to get to the front yard. What are your best suggestions for how this can be handled? Hi Lori — Bougainvilleas do grow like crazy! Be careful when pruning because they have thorns. Hi Nell — I want to plant my bougainvillea in a pot in my covered patio area.

It has a fibreglass roof so plenty of light and gets very hot but NO direct sunlight. Do you think it will flower in these conditions? Thanks — Philippa. So, you might get some flowering. I have two variegated bougs in pots. I live in zone 8 so we do get some freezing weather although it varies from year to year. What is best—bring them in to a garage with lights or leave them outside and cover them if a freeze is expected? Thanks for you help.

They can take a night or 2 around 32F but not any prolonged cold spells. Otherwise, bring them into the garage when a cold spell is forecast. It lost it leaves and flowers at the beginning of November, and we cut it back, and planted in a beautiful huge pot. Brought it inside, and was expecting it to go dormant. I looked at it today, and gave it a little water…. Is it going to keep growing inside?? It does get lots of light and sun, and I am afraid it is going to take over our dining room!

Should I cut it back more now, or just let it keep growing. Will keep it in the pot forever, and move it back outside when the weather warms up in early spring… Thank you for any help you can give.

Take care… Patricia. I am crazy about orange-way before it became trendy. Is there anything I can do to get it back to orange? I am in zone 9 and have been using bougainvillea fertilizer. Thank you…great site. Hi Patricia — Congratulations on your beautiful bougie! It may not go dormant or even semi-dormant in your house because you most likely have the heat on. They drop their leaves in reaction to cold temps. Hope tyhat helps! Hi Terry — Thank you for visiting our site.

By the way, I love orange too. Also, age can be a slight factor. I am on the Algarve southern Portugal I planted two Bougs back in summer to grow along a metal fence I had made for the purpose , the boug on left gets sun all day the one on right goes into shade mid afternoon , the one on the right raced along the fence the one on the left just stayed same size , both had plenty of flowers and still have flowers on them Jan Is the one on the right seeking the sunshine hence the faster growth ,?

I was expecting them to grow at same rate and eventually meet in the middle , having read the threads above I think I may be expecting too much too soon , I look forward to seeing how much growth I start to get in spring. We live in South Florida and bought a Bougainvillea tree about a month ago. It gets 6 hours of full sun a day. Please help? There could be 2 reasons which I see off the bat: the sprinkler is coming on too often.

It would prefer a deeper soaking less often. We built a house on a scenic lot and there was a tall year old avocado tree near the house that had to have many of its branches and a main root shot to be lopped off due to the construction.

Unfortunately after about a year the tree has died due to the trauma and I had this tree trimmed with the idea of using the trunk and its bare branches as a stand for growing some bougainvillea vines. What was left is a 15 foot tall trunk with a few bare branches. Bouganvilleas are very common in this area: ft elevation, warm but not hot tropical climate right on the Equatorial line, the temps are always between 55F nights and 85 F days, and the days are always 12 hours long.

Sunshine is not a problem and the rainfall is abundant, it is seasonal and it never gets dry. The mountains surrounding us are always green. So my idea is to plant about six flowering bougainvillea plants at the base of the trunk and train them to climb up all over the tree trunk up to the top. I plan on wrapping chicken wire mesh around the trunk for support of the vines for this. Is this a good idea? About How long should it take for the tree to be covered with the bougainvillea?

Any specific tips to make this happen? Any other thoughts? Bougainvillea, like many plants, is slow to go but once it takes off, grows like crazy. Hello all! I just bought three of these beauties and am going to plant them next to a wire fence that was put up to contain my dog. The yard behind the fence is a rapidly ascending hill. Also behind the fence is a lot of English Ivy that has been allowed to grow ramped.

I know I can experiment and do what is necessary, but just curious. Hello Nell, the three Bougies I am going to plant are in hard plastic 1-gallon pots.

And should I cut big slits like you suggest for the 5-gallon pots? It take bougies a few years to really get going so you may have to help your bougies out by pruning away some of the ivy. I always used a spare sharp pruner to make the cuts. Also, how deep do I bury the pot? Thank you for the great info.

We live in n. Do you know if that will work? And yes, bury the pot to the level of the root ball soil. I can answer this for you — most vines can be not only trained on a wall but can grow as the ground as well.

Not Helpful 45 Helpful Not Helpful 42 Helpful Nurseries usually sell bougainvilleas at the height of their blooming period. Unfortunately, beautiful as they are, the blooms can't last forever. Yours is probably going into a growth period that should be followed by another period of blooms; don't worry.

Be sure to keep the plant almost dry to promote blooms in the future. Not Helpful 40 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Avoid over-watering bougainvillea; this can prevent flowering and at the worst can cause rot, decay, and destruction of the plant. Helpful Not Helpful On the whole, bougainvillea is relatively pest-free.

Worms, aphids, and moths might be an issue. Helpful 96 Not Helpful Wear gloves and sleeve protectors when pruning. Related wikiHows How to. How to. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: Updated: May 6, Categories: Growing Trees and Shrubs. Article Summary X To grow bougainvillea, plant it in well-draining soil in a sunny outdoor spot.

Italiano: Coltivare la Buganville. Deutsch: Bougainvillea pflanzen. Bahasa Indonesia: Menanam Bugenvil. Nederlands: Bougainvillea kweken. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,, times.

Reader Success Stories Jocelyn Sep Found your articles a great help, many thanks. More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Jocelyn Sep Nelia Sim Mar 24, To my dismay, I have plenty of greens instead of blooms, even though my choices are considered collectors' items.

I gained a better understanding about the plant. Hopefully, I will get favorable results this summer. Thank you so much! Blue Jun 15, The information about things like the poison ivy effect were so helpful. I work full-time as a foliage technician and am about to build a trellis inside 2 pots tomorrow. I'm very glad to know I need to wear gloves.

I'm severely allergic to the ivy. This one article tells all I would ever need to know! Rated this article:. Ken O. May 24, I kept it in the pot and placed it facing south. However, it began to wilt. I have found out through reading these instructions that I have over watered it. By reducing the watering and following your care instructions, the plant is recovering.

Nora Harlow May 17, I now feel I can give it a good home here in Texas. If it works out, I may add many more, since my chickens don't seem to bother them. It's hard to find flowers that work here. Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories.