This blog is for gardeners above, beyond, and below the surface. For those interested in botanical names, inventories, collection and else.

Not recommended for gardeners depending only on nurseries for the practice.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

THE BOUGANVILLEA POST

These are probably the most attractive climbers in my collection and/or  the tropics.  I prefer those in the violet/pink spectrum, the darker the better.  Beside its beauty, when planted in the right context, with correct pruning, Bouganvilleas will provide privacy, shade, inexpensive and efficient security.

Do not plant close by pedestrian traffic, it is foolish, and you will spend the rest of your life in futile attempts to keep them from poking someone eyes or getting hurt with the nasty thorns.  If you like are into the  hedges fad,  good luck!  You will get lots of foliage with little flowering  left available after  every trim.

If you live in them template areas, you could keep them inside, but, the possibilities are that every imaginable disease may drop by.  If  I am mistaken, be kind, let me know.

that is that 

If I ever make my top twenty list in 
the collection, Bouganvilleas will be 
among the top ten.

They are not easy to propagate, even with rooting hormones, my record is not so hot.  Mine have demonstrated resistance to heat/drought and pests.The first Boganvillea planted in the corner of the west/south garden was a present from Suncha, it is 3 years old.  Thanks to careful pruning, the branches in the front of the house have  them weeping branches while those the back (south garden)
are almost flat resting on wires.


Now a few facts for the record 

Bouganvillea comprises 14 to18 tropical American shrubby, climbing
species, many cultivated for their inflorescences.  The genus is named after the French navigator and explorer Loius-Antoine de Bouganville,
1729-1811, who discovered the plants in Brazil during one of his voyages. There  is much hybridization in the genus, making the identification of some of the species and cultivars difficult.

W. Arthur Whistler
TROPICAL ORNAMENTALS
page 87

2 comments:

  1. My favorite vine...I see them come back from the roots, unmulched, in El Paso. I think they might do that in Abq if the root crown was mulched. Thorny, but some of the best plants are...

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  2. That is good to know..Never expected them Trinitarias, the popular name in this neck of the concrete/asphalt would survive them cold temperatures, mulched or not.

    The most impressive background for this climber are those white walls in Greek islands without any other vegetation in sight, with the ocean somewhere to the left or right. Or those patios in the south of Spain, Granada/Sevilla and such. In me humble opinion.

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