The name of my Bougainvillea is Barbara Karst. Their vibrant color does not come from their small white tubular flowers, but from the three large paper-like bracts that surround each flower. I wanted to cut off these long limbs but I was afraid to, because I remembered how beautiful bougainvillea look in mid-summer with lots of red blooms. Cutting Back – May 6 – After fertilizing the pots, they grew long trailing limbs. When it does, Raul trims all the dead leaves and branches down to a third of the original size. I just pray for freezing weather to go away. I know this will happen, so I don’t worry about it. They will keep their blooms for a while, but soon the leaves drop, and the plants freeze.

Freezing Weather – When cold weather comes, Raul pulls the pots into the garage. Dennis Wright, a landscape architect, told me, “The bougainvillea likes to wither.” It is difficult to know when the plant withers, but I can usually tell when the plant’s leaves start to dry.ĥ. Water large pots until water runs out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Be sure the dirt in the pot feels dry before you water. (The plant was discovered by the French explorer Antoine de Bougainvillea, who on a trip to the Pacific Ocean in 1768 discovered the vine.) Water every other day – not every day. Watering – Bougainvillea comes from a hot humid climate, and it is happy in this atmosphere. I noticed my helper, Raul Lopez, was giving a small handful of fertilizer to the pots, and I said, “Raul, you are not giving enough Hibiscus food.” Thereafter, he measured exactly.Ĥ. My pots are 20 inches in diameter so according to the directions on the container I give my plants one half cup once a month. Be sure to measure exactly the amount of food according to the size of your pot. Hibiscus food has more potash than many other fertilizers. Fertilizing – Fertilize with Hibiscus Food, 12-4-18. Use good potting soil mixed with rich compost.ģ. Soil to Use in Pots – Be sure your pots have good holes in the bottom, so you will have good drainage. In the ground, the plant will stay vegetative and bloom little.Ģ. In order to make the bougainvillea crowded in the ground you would have to cut the roots back. Plant in Pots – Bougainvilleas like their roots to be crowded in a pot. The question people ask me most often (I am a member of the horticulture committee of my garden club) is, “Why doesn’t my bougainvillea bloom?”ġ. Now all seven plants bloom every five or six weeks and then rest from blooming for five or six weeks. So I put the plant in a large pot and placed it in the driveway in full sun. It did not bloom, so I moved it near an 11 foot wall. First I put my bougainvillea under a tree. To find out that this flower needed that kind of hot full sun, I had to move the first pot twice because it would not bloom.

Seven large pots (twenty inches in diameter) each hold 6-foot tall Bougainvilleas standing in full hot glorious sun. Hidden in an alcove behind the hummingbird tree grow four tall Red Sister Cordyline plants, which enjoy morning sun and afternoon shade.īut my pride and joy this season are my Bougainvillea. But soon the tubular blooms will open wide enough for the birds to suck the sweet nectar. At the back door where I stand to look out at this colorful realm is my hummingbird tree ( hamelia patens), which is full of red tubular blossoms, not quite ready for the hummingbirds. On my side of the fence grow white shell ginger, yellow bells, yellow shrimp plant and red roses. To the west of my house the blossoms on my neighbor’s crape myrtle trees cascade over a fence, in bright colors of pink, red and watermelon. Now, in summer, my garden is full of color. I know with extreme heat I can have lots of color in flowers, and at my age, 95, that is important. I live in Houston, so I am used to intense heat. It is now July, with the temperature at 94 degrees. Way back in January when my garden was brown and bleak I remember saying with great feeling, “I am hungry for color.” The only flowers blooming then were pansies.

Colors autumn 94 beauty plus size