Whoops the spelling may be out. I bought a beauganvilla plant at the weekend. I know they thrive in places like Spain and the Canaries, I planted it in a big pot, watered it and fed it but it has done nothing but rain here for the last three days. Is it having too much rain? I've brought it indoors just in case and put it in the kitchen, I used to have a green house but it got blown away in the storms earlier this year. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help, Gaz.
Don't worry about the spelling,it is Bourganvilla. Although it is a woody plant it does not like cold wet conditions. So do not over waterit,in the summer let it dry out slightly before watering again. Let it dry out slightly coming into winter, and then just give it a trickle of water next spring. If it does not get to big (you could cut it back severly) you will have to keep it in you home overwinter! I have one (Mrs Butts Hybrid)in a 12 inch pot in my greenhouse at the moment,it is almost up to the eaves. Once the sun comes out again I will place it outside for the summer,and bring in in the autumn. As I am only able to keep my greenhouse mostly frost free, it looses all of it's leaves over winter, but come the warmer days,the leaves start to sprout again! Hope this is of use to you! Cherrioi
Yes, I have to over winter mine indoors during the winter months. It stands about 5ft tall on a frame and I have to keep weaving it in and out of the frame to keep it down to size or I would never get it back indoors again. They are ideal conservatory plants - my daughter had a high roof conservatory and a fair space of outdoor wall inside the conservatory to grow hers up it was a picture.
Thanks very much both of you for your advice, I brought it in last night but it's very heavy, I'll have to have another think about replacing the greenhouse that blew away in the storms.:rolleyes:
I bought a small bouginvilla fromMorrisons for £1.99 was in bloom when I bought it now just greenery. I did notice the girl beeing far too kind with the watering ,but since I have got it home repotted as it was also pot pound and now kept it in my conservatory as a houseplant for now and its showing new growth. For now GTH how about letting it dry out and grow as a houseplant for now and then when you get a good dry spelll outdoors leave out for the summer .
Thanks that's a good idea although it's already about two feet high, cost £20 from M&S, so I put it in the biggest pot I have and it's very heavy to lift. Perhaps I should get one of those cheapo polythene greenhouses for it?
I have 4 bougavillas all in my conservatory and there is hardly a month one of them is not in flower. Obviously summer is the best when they all flower at once. 3 of them are climbing ones - 1 is deep purple, one a stunning orange which i brought back Sicily and the other has variegated leaves and both deep pink and white blooms on the same plant. The other I brought back from Paxos and is a shrubby form with pink flowers and this is put outside every summer in it's pot and flowers quite happily in our Yorkshire summers I don't water them very much in winter but manage to keep the leaves and some flowers all winter. When they start to get a bit untidy i cut them back to a framework and within 3/4 weeks they are oming into flower again. They are by far the best performers in my conservatory and I would not be without them. Persevere as they will reward you with a good show. I will take some photos and post them for you to see.
:thumb: I have one in my greenhouse which goes outside in the summer, but only if it is hot, dry & sunny. These are the instructions a friend gave me.. GROWING YOUR BOUGAINVILLEA .Light: For best results give your Bougainvilleas plenty of sunlight. The shade can cause bract and leaf drop. Humidity: Not essential. Can be positioned on windowsill in central heated room. Watering: Can take plenty of water in summer, but allow to dry a little between watering then give a good drink again as deep watering produces good root system rather than frequent light sprinklings. Feeding: A feed high in nitrogen in early spring will start growth, changing to a higher potash feed for flowering Potting: Repot in spring and summer as necessary, preferably in clay pots. Use Multi Purpose compost. Pruning & Training: Best pruned lightly after flowering and / or hard in February / March, shaping them into bush, standard, espaliers, pyramids, hanging baskets, over arch or ceiling to prevent the sun from scorching other plants, can even be grown as Bonsai. Temperature: Must be kept in a frost free position in winter. Can be stored at 2-3°C. Under 1O°C will tend to go deciduous, but will leaf up again when it gets warmer. I have a heated greenhouse in winter for my tropicals, which I never let drop below 10deg... Hope that helps too.
Spelling ... English ... Bougainvillea, same as the Latin. I have one bush and six climbing ones and they are pretty much at home here. In saying that, they are also difficult to establish here, taking up to five years ... yes, five years rooting in the ground. I have two that have been in the ground since 2005 and they are still stuggling. Here they tolerate heat and rain, very heavy rain in the winter ... and even now! I have never had one in the UK so cannot make a comment regarding how they should be treated there but my friend there has one I took back to her years ago and it is in her conservatory and is all over the place (that is in Bucks). Good luck with yours.
I have two Bougainvilleas at home, the rest at work. The ones at home are outside most of the year being brought into the utility room for a couple of months usually feb to march to promote early growth. The only ones which are anywhere near hardy are of the Glabra types, Buttianas are not so resilliant and suffer in cold wet summers. Glabra can and has taken -3c here but -5c is too much and usually kills it off. The things they do not like is root disturbance and over potting, also I find potash (flowering) feed does not improve flower performance.
I have just followed my friends instructions Strongy.... Well, I will give it a try, not giving it the potash then if you think they don't need it.. Mine does get absolutely covered in flowers so thought it was the potash helping... Will try your way this year then strongy...:thumb:
If you think the potash has helped M, 'if it ain't broke..... BTW I have two very healthy Crassula O Var, thanks
