How fast do bougainvillea grow

Slow-release fertilizer or regular applications of or fertilizer will nourish bougainvilleas, but over-fertilizing can slow growth.

Are bougainvillea poisonous to dogs? Bougainvillea is classified as mildly toxic to dogs. The most common side effect of a dog eating bougainvillea are gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Call a veterinarian if your dog experiences ill effects after eating any plant. Is bougainvillea a shrub or climber? Some bougainvilleas are shrubs. They will always stay small. Others are huge, tall, climbing plants. You cannot get a bougainvillea to grow tall if it is a shrub and not a true climbing plant.

What is the best fertilizer for bougainvillea? Use complete, balanced fertilizers with a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium N-P-K ratio such as or to promote good bougainvillea health and plentiful flowers. Too much nitrogen promotes vegetative growth at the expense of blooms, so slow-release fertilizers that moderate nitrogen release are best.

Are coffee grounds good for bougainvillea? Bougainvillea needs rich, acidic soil with a pH of 5. I sprinkle used coffee grounds around mine, as well as around my azaleas, which also require acidic soil. If we don't drink all the coffee made in the mornings, I dilute it with plain water for my acid-loving plants, and pour it around them.

Will bougainvillea cuttings root in water? I successfully propagate bougainvilleas in water, but there are some tips: Choose cuttings that are almost hard to avoid rotting in water. Put them in a small size paper cup half filled with water; remember that wide opening of cups help evaporating water, so keep the appropriate humidity.

Should I cut back my bougainvillea? Bougainvilleas are rapid growers, flowering all year-round in the tropics and subtropics.

Vigorous, untrained cultivars are fast-growing climbing plants that can reach 30m, scrambling up and through other plants. We talk about the vibrantly coloured bougainvillea flowers but this isn't quite right, botanically speaking. The flower itself is tiny, tubular and whitish and is produced in clusters of three, surrounded by the brilliantly coloured bracts.

Colours include pink, magenta, lavender, purple, red, orange, yellow or white. Some are two-toned and several varieties come with brightly variegated foliage. In most double-flowered cultivars, the true flowers are replaced by even more floral bracts. White flowering bougainvillea is a popular choice for coastal or Hamptons-style gardens. The small-growing hybrid Bambino series has obtained a well-earned reputation as a high-quality plant, giving bougainvilleas a new place in small gardens.

They were selected by bougainvillea expert Jan Iredell. Some are seedlings, some are bud sports and some are overseas introductions.

Jan discovered the cultivar 'Jazzi', with red bracts, and 'Siggi', with golden bracts, which she simultaneously sprouted from specimens in her own collection in Brisbane. Bambinos have strong, clear colours and flower repeatedly.

If there is one uniting quality of Bambinos, it is their suitability for container culture and small gardens, as they generally only reach 1. Bougainvilleas have been grown and hybridised for so many years that botanists disagree on how many species exist but there's thought to be at least different varieties nowdays. It seems that most of today's varieties have three ancestral species; Bougainvillea glabra , B.

Modern bougainvilleas are known simply as Bougainvillea Hybrids or by their cultivar names. Bougainvilleas are trouble-free plants, robust and adaptable and they love warmth and sunshine. Traditionally grown over pergolas, their luminous colour can also be enjoyed in hanging baskets and containers, if growing the dwarf varieties. It's just a matter of pruning them to shape two or three times a year. Bougainvilleas can be trained as bonsai and make bold house or patio plants, which is one way gardeners in frosty, temperate regions can enjoy their fiery colours.

Bougainvillea is a sun loving plant that will provide a pretty pop of colour against a back fence or garden shed. The three types of bougainvillea most cultivated in this country all keep their leaves year round. These are Bourgainvillea spectabilis, Bougainvillea glabra and Bougainvillea peruviana — the first two native to Brazil and the latter to Peru.

You will also find many hybrid species from crosses between these three, and these are all evergreen as well. However, any bougainvillea can lose its leaves in winter if it suffers through a long, dry summer and is not properly irrigated.

Breeders have developed numerous bougainvillea cultivars from these three species. You will find that they offer different forms of plant, different sizes and above all a wide and dramatic range of bract colors. It is more cold hardy than many bougainvillea plants and has less-pronounced thorns. Sunset published a list of other cultivars that are worth a look. Check out 'White Stripe' Bougainvillea 'White Stripe' that produces pure white, showy bracts that go well with the white and green variegated leaves.

If your neighbor has a bougainvillea you would like in your own yard, can you take a cutting with any chance of rooting it? North Carolina State Extension reports that bougainvilleas propagate easily from cuttings as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. Take the cutting in early spring before the bush begins to flower. Snip off a stem just below a leaf node, making the cutting about 6 inches long. Strip off the leaves using scissors, not your fingers from the bottom half of the cutting and then cut the bottom on a long diagonal.

Pot the bougainvillea cutting in a container filled with well-draining potting soil or compost with some grit mixed in. Dip the cutting's cut end into powdered rooting hormone before planting. Moisten the soil from time to time with a fine spray and keep the plant in a warm, humid atmosphere. Once you see the cutting develop new growth, plant your new bougainvillea outdoors in a sunny site.

She earned a BA from U. Santa Cruz, a law degree from U. She currently divides her life between San Francisco and southwestern France. Does Bougainvillea Grow Quickly? Home Guides Garden Gardening. By Teo Spengler Updated June 22, Related Articles.