If you love flowering vines, then the bougainvillea plant is one you are sure to call a favorite. These beauties come in red, purple, blue, and other bright colors.
The plant has many large thorns that can put a hurting on you if you are not careful. Cutting down and removing a large bougainvillea is a lot of hard work, even for professional landscapers.
My friend does Landscaping for a living, and he is often asked to cut down and prune these plants. As you know, it is not fun at all to prune them. But they are wonderful to look at.
Keep in mind that the bougainvillea plant will choke off other plants as it matures. So be sure to give it plenty of room to grow. This vine is hardy and can grow rapidly. I’ve seen them grow well in the sun, shade, and even in drought-like conditions. You can pick one of them up at most home improvement and gardening stores.
The Bougainvillea Vine has lush foliage and beautiful flowers that come out in a wide variety of colors.
Know About Bougainvillea Vine
What are they called again? They are also known as the bougainvillea, a paper flower. These flowers come from the Nyctaginaceae or four-o’clock family.
The vine is made attractive by its Lush Foliage and leaf-like flowers that come out in a wide variety of colors, from white to dark crimson red.
What Makes the bougainvillea plant so Fascinating?
The plant is a vine-like flower with a woody vine. It was named after an 18th-century French explorer, Louis Antoine de Bougainvillea. This was a noble Frenchman who, in fact, traveled the world. Native to South America, you can also find the vine plant growing in places like the United States, in the south of France, in Australia, and Southeast Asia.
Vine Description
The bougainvillea vine has woody and thorny stems, heart-shaped leaves, and leaf-like flowers.
It is a fast-growing vine plant and can be trained to cover attractively cover arches and fences because it can climb up to great heights and has flowers in many colors.
The among the many colors of the Bougainvillea Flowers are fuchsia, light pink, magenta, dark red, white, orange, and salmon.
They do not always appear the same. Some varieties have more compact, thicker petals and are smaller than normal.
It can also be pruned and made into hedges. The bougainvillea can also be planted as a container plant. It is ideal to use for a security fence as it has thorns.
This lovely flower will lose its leaves briefly during the winter. They are what we consider semi-evergreen.
With its unique wooden-type vine, watching it sprout out can be fascinating. When they sprout out, they tend to go in all different directions.
For the most part, gardeners will tend to keep them trimmed as much as possible.
You can’t help but notice the beautiful heart-shaped leaves that have a very soft feel to them. You will notice that fewer thorns also happen to be smaller than the others in the same family.
The blossom is actually white and very small. It appears against the bracts that are responsible for the color. These flowers can reach up to 30 feet and are the most beautiful from summer to autumn.
Some vine plants can grow up to 40 feet high and will spread out. The top branches tend to flop over because of the dense foliage. This is not an easy plant to prune as the thorns grow in multitude.
How Might I Care For These Beautiful Flowers?
In the winter months, the leaves will drop off the plant. In places where the climate is warm, pruning the vine plant to promote flowering should be done in October.
You should not water the plant during cold months to avoid getting the roots frozen. Fertilizing should also be avoided during these months.
The vine will thrive under nearly any condition but will flourish best in full sun and loamy soil. This plant does not need to be frequently watered.
It is best to let the soil dry out completely between watering. It is drought tolerant and will survive long periods, simply depending on natural rainfall. It is propagated through cuttings.
These are not at all picky with the type of soil that they like. They adapt quite well but like a well-drained, rich, and loamy type of soil.
If you decide to grow in a pot, make sure that the roots are close together to develop the best flowers possible. You should reduce the water during the winter months because this is a “hibernating” time for them.
They love the light, bright light, that is. They can go without water for a period of time. However, it is safe to allow them not to water so that they will force blossoms.
Where in the World Might I Find One of These Flowers?
For the most part, you will be able to locate the Bougainvillea plant in South America. However, they can be found in places like Florida and California, then everywhere in between.
Even though America is where you will see them the most, they can also be found in France, Australia, and even Asia.
Why Do These Shrubs Gain So Much Attention? What Are They Good For Anyway?
People like to use them for decorating fences because of the extravagant colors. It is recommended that if your taste happens to be the Mediterranean, you have at least one of these in your archways and framed windows.
The colors are absolutely breathtaking. You may even put them in large pots to decorate patios. The great thing about it is that you can make it into any shape that you want to or just let it grow wild.
The Good and the Bad About the Bougainvillea plant. There is Nothing Ugly About It.
You can consider many things when you are thinking of using some of these flowers for your home or elsewhere.
First of all, they are not a good plant to have around children. The reason being is because it is a shrub, and children can easily get their fingers pricked by the thorny vine.
On the other hand, they are a good plant to have for security reasons. Disguised by the beautiful colors, one may not think twice about trying to climb over it to find out that there is a surprise awaiting them called a bunch of thorns.
This is a beautiful choice for colors and to decorate large areas from a distance. Since they are a vine, it would look beautiful climbing up onto a fence line. Not to mention the beautiful variety of colors that they have to choose from as well.
The choice is yours with all of the reasons to use and not to use these in your landscape. Like mentioned, it is not good around kids. Then you may not want them anywhere people would be swimming, like pools and lake areas. The Bougainvillea plant is a beautiful vine and very unique.
