Plant Care Guides / Outdoor & Coastal / Large shrubs and feature plants
Exotic (South American) | Easy Care | Large shrubs and feature plants
Bougainvillea brings more colour per square metre than almost any other plant you can grow. The vivid display comes not from the small, inconspicuous true flowers, but from the papery bracts that surround them, in electric shades of pink, magenta, red, orange, purple, white and salmon.
It is a vigorous, thorny, scrambling shrub that can cover a wall, a fence, a pergola or an archway in a blaze of colour, and it thrives in hot, dry, sunny conditions, which makes it ideal for the St Francis Bay coast. This covers the compact varieties 'Temple Fire' and 'Tom Thumb', which stay smaller and suit containers and smaller gardens. Once established it is remarkably drought-tolerant, and the less you water it, the more it flowers. Overwatering and overfeeding produce leaves instead of colour.
Compact varieties (Temple Fire, Tom Thumb): 1 to 1.5 m. Full-sized varieties can reach 5 m or more against a wall.
Fast once established.
Wall cover, fence, pergola, archway, large container, hanging basket (compact types), colour feature. Stunning against a white wall.
Full sun, the hotter and sunnier the better. It will not flower in shade.
Any well-drained soil. It does not need rich soil and actually flowers better in leaner conditions. Poor, sandy coastal soil suits it well.
Once established, water sparingly. Bougainvillea flowers most when slightly stressed for water. Overwatering produces green growth at the expense of colour. Water only when the soil has dried out, and in winter, barely at all.
Feed lightly in spring with a fertiliser high in potassium (like a tomato feed) to promote flowering. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilisers, which push leaf growth instead of colour.
Prune after each flowering flush to shape and encourage new flowering growth. It flowers on new wood, so regular pruning equals more colour. Wear thick gloves because the thorns are real and sharp. Prune hard in late winter to keep the size manageable.
Ask about availability. WhatsApp us to check what is currently in stock, or visit the nursery and we will help you choose the right plant for your spot.
