Bougainvillea for the greenhouse

Wow, that's some shoot! Thorns?

EDIT : Just noticed, ours has thorns too

 

So @pete , what would you recommend with regards to cutting back? Could/should I cut it back by 2/3rds?

 

My small orange one is flowering again, it only finished in August. I previously kept mine in the greenhouse and in winter at around 4c but they defoliated, now we have a conservatory they may stay in leaf all winter.


Hydro, just looking again at your Bougainvillea seedling in it's pot, it doesn't look like one as it has opposite leaves whereas Bougainvillea has alternate leaves (at least mine do) and they are very ovate, If the seed came from China I would be a bit suspicious.

 

I guess I will just have to wait and see. It is only a few weeks old, however, the leaves are getting larger and looking a little more like a Bougainvillea. I recently got two more from the states, one of which is a bonsai, so one way or the other I will have a few plants.

 

I have never seen a seedling Bougainvillea so I may be wrong..

 

This is a dwarf pink Bougainvillea developed to be a bonsai. Although I am not going to bonsai the plant I am not going to allow, this or any of my plants, to grow into monsters.

 

Just had another look, I think @strongylodon is right @hydrogardener, your seedling appears to have pinnate leaves.

Might be best to wait until early spring @Freddy, I think if you cut too hard when dormant you could kill it, but only guessing as I never had much luck growing in pots.

 

"Just had another look, I think @@strongylodon is right @@hydrogardener, your seedling appears to have pinnate leaves."

Oh ye of little faith, do you not trust our Chinese brethren? LOL After the effort I put in to start the seed I intend to grow it and find out just what it is. I bought the seeds from a seller on eBay who is about the only one selling Bougainvillea seeds. They have a 99.4% positive approval rating and have been selling the seeds for quite some time. In any event, the seeds cost me about two dollars, delivered, and I got three times as many as I ordered. Only time will tell...

 

Thanks Pete

 

I just checked the description of the seeds I purchased on eBay. They are supposed to be Bougainvillea glabra, commonly called paper flower. The plant is primarily used for bonsai. I am not sure about the leaf configuration on the plant though.

 

On the first day of the winter solstice I increased the photoperiod and changed the spectrum to vegetative/flowering on the indoor grow lights to force my olive trees to flower. Well, it worked, as two varieties are beginning to flower. That said, the change had a much greater impact on my Bougainvilleas; as they are flowering. They are not exactly beautiful flowers, however, any type of flower in January is to be appreciated.

 

My bougainvillea flowered on the first of January, the flowers lasted a few weeks and then the plant went dormant.

Four months later it is flowering again. I have no idea of what the variety is, but it has no thorns at all.

 

Regarding Bougainvilleas and watering.. I grow one outside so it's even more of a challenge.. but where it is is very dry.. this doesn't really help vegtative growth.. because vegetative growth will be good for producing more point on which bracts can develop.. so I water mine quite heavily in the Spring, because they need to grow, as they often get cut back a little in winter. They will eventually bract/flower I'm sure, but they need to be moist at first, in order for that to happen. Then drying out afterwards. This is the way with most dry climate plants, particularly plants from South Africa. I'm pretty sure Bougainvilleas can grow in humid subtropical climates also however.

 

Well, the plant certainly seems to like the spot it has found in the greenhouse, as it has been flowering for weeks. I am going to let it fight it out with the cucumbers for the netting support.