Bougainvillea, Types And Care

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

More than three hundred varieties of the plant can be found all over the world today. This diversity is the result of natural mutations in just eighteen South American species recognized by botanists. Where a large number of plants grow, crosses occur spontaneously, causing confusion in the names of cultivars. But for lovers of beauty, the name is not as important as the appearance of the plant

I tried to figure out at least three types of Bougainvillea and determine what species grow in our garden. Indeed, the numerous photographs on the Internet give the impression that the same pictures are displayed under different names. Try to divide the plant by species here! That's what I did.

Bougainvillea is wonderful

Bougainvillea is wonderful (lat. Bougainvillea spectabilis) also called "Big Bougainvillea". The plant can be a woody liana or shrub up to 12 m high.

White small flowers and orange, violet-red, purple, red or white bracts, like heart-shaped leaves, outwardly do not differ from other types of Bougainvillea.

But the stems of this species, in addition to sharp thorns, are covered with pubescence.

Bougainvillea nude

Bougainvillea naked (lat. Bougainvillea glabra) also called "Lesser Bougainvillea". This is an evergreen shrub 3-4 m high, which can grow up to 9 meters in very favorable conditions. That is, he will not grow to the previous species, therefore he received the adjective "lesser".

With flowers and stipules, the same picture is repeated as with other species. True, the stipules in this species are very thin and similar to paper ones, for which the plant is sometimes called “Paper flower”.

But the spiny stems do not have pubescence. Apparently that's why Bougainvillea is called "naked". Since I did not find an explanation for this name in the literature, and in the yard we have all the multi-colored species with smooth stems, I wondered for a long time why, with such a splendor of the bush, I was suddenly “naked”. Acquaintance with the previous species gave an answer to the riddle - the stem is smooth, devoid of pubescence, that is, naked.

Hybrids

But more often, as noted earlier, natural hybrids can be found. Some of them have their own names, while others simply repeat the names of their parents.

For example, Bougainvillea buttiana with bright crimson bracts, found in Colombia, Cartagena, Mrs. R. V. Butt, was adopted as a new species and was named after its "discoverer". However, botanists later found out that it is a natural hybrid of many other Bougainvillea species.

Plant care

Bougainvillea is a very unpretentious plant, if it happened to settle in a warm climate, on sandy soil. Here is such a beauty who reached the second floor of the Palm Beach Hotel in Hurghada:

High drought resistance, of course, does not cancel out periodic watering. But with an excess of moisture, Bougainvillea spends more energy on its foliage, and does not bloom profusely. It is worth reducing watering, as the shrub is covered with a bright blanket of stipules, from which small graceful flowers peep shyly.

Bougainvillea grows in favorable conditions very quickly, requiring the attention of the gardener to her appearance. Periodic haircuts help maintain shape and also promote abundant flowering.

Bougainvillea perfectly keeps the defense from pests, but still it can be attacked by snails, the ubiquitous gluttonous aphid, worms (although I have not noticed worms in the hot sand yet).

The plant propagates easily by cuttings.

In areas with cold winters, Bougainvillea is grown in hanging baskets and flower pots. Its shearing tolerance allows the plant to be used for bonsai cultivation.