🌸 Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spp.
Technically the flowers are tiny — the attitude is enormous.
Sun
Full sun, 6+ hrs (blooms demand it)
Days to harvest
1–2 years to full glory
Spacing
5–10 ft depending on variety
Soil pH
5.5–6.5
How to grow
Plant in the hottest, sunniest, most neglected corner of your yard — bougainvillea blooms best when slightly stressed. Too much water and fertilizer gives you leaves instead of color. Let the soil dry between waterings once established. In Florida it's evergreen; in zone 9 and colder, grow it in a pot and drag it inside before frost.
Water & feeding
Deep but infrequent — drought between waterings triggers heavier blooming. Soggy soil causes root rot and a very unimpressed plant.
Common problems
- Too much love (overwatering and overfeeding = all leaves, no blooms)
- Caterpillars and bougainvillea loopers chewing the foliage
- Frost kill in zone 9 and below — mulch the base and cover
- Thorns — wear gloves, or learn why the hard way
Harvest
No fruit — prune after each bloom cycle to shape and encourage reblooming. Hard prune in late winter to keep it from eating the house.
Nerdy fact: Those brilliant 'flowers' are actually modified leaves called bracts — the real flowers are the tiny white tubes in the center. The plant essentially invented false advertising, and gardeners have been falling for it for centuries.