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?
Bougainvillea? Anyone down on the coast grow one outside?
Hello CoreHHI, I don't know about a tree form but my mother in law had a few Bougainvilles growing on fences. They were AMAZING!!!!! Once they were established she never watered them! She lived in Santa Barbara, CA then. No frost of course but she lived at the foothills, could be quite chilly on winter evenings! Very drought resistant!
I am in Atlanta and would love to be able to grow them, I might try still.
Good luck.
I have a couple of dry areas which are full sun and it's hard to get anything to grow. That's partly where I got the idea. The problem is light frost, I usually get about a week down in the high 20's but some winters I can go without a frost. Really I'm zone 9a but one time in 20 years we did get a night that was 19 degrees so I say 8b to be safe. That was a freak event but it could happen again.
Bougies really love to be pot bound but here they grow in the ground. We plant them and stand back because those wicked branches grow some really wicked thorns. Once established in the ground they grow rampantly and bloom all summer long in full sun which is what you have. A lot of people tell you they don't like water but they really do like it but don't like wet feet so need good drainage in porous soil. They need to be fed a low middle number i.e. 3-1-2 fertilizer. We have high humidity here and they thrive. If they are frost bitten they can turn brown but they should covered if a frost is predicted and well mulched to protect the roots - all year. They are called climbers but I prefer to refer to them as ramblers and they need a lot of head room so don't plant anywhere near a door way or walk, etc. Hope this helps.
Ann
Be careful what you ask for. In central Florida, once established, they can get out of control. They are fast growers and of course you have to deal with the nasty thorns. Don't plant near home openings, close beds, etc. They do make a nice fence cover however and the blooms are gorgeous. Good Luck.
The location I want to plant them in is in the back of my lot where my fence comes to a corner so no fear of the thorns. It's basic a little hill with sandy soil so drainage is not a problem. I have lots of room for it to be big. 20x20 really wouldn't be a problem. I was thinking of planting a group of three palms there because many palms need very little water and full sun. I'm not a big of a fan of palms though.
Sounds like the perfect spot to me! Although I said before once established they don't want watering but I recall my mother-in-law waterd maybe 1x mnth maybe when severly hot and dry. Living in Santa Barbara she was VERY conscientious of waterbill!!!! And her Bougies looked amazing.
Send pics when ready.