Give your garden the wow factor with bougainvilleas. From pot-friendly dwarfs to wall scramblers, they are wonderfully waterwise as well

When it comes to sheer exuberance, you’d be hard-pressed to outdo the bougainvillea. These tough-as-nails plants give a breathtaking display throughout the warm months, and in tropical areas, bloom on and off year-round. And the colour range is simply fab, from glowing cerise-reds and luminescent purples, to apricot-pinks and pure white. There are even forms with variegated foliage.

The showy blooms of the bougainvillea are in fact colourful bracts (a sort of modified leaf), which surround a tiny tubular flower. The bracts have an almost papery feel, unlike a traditional flower petal, and last for much longer. While they are usually classed as climbers, bougainvilleas are really scrambling shrubs, which throw out long-arching canes as they grow.

Bougainvilleas are a perfect plant for our times. They are extremely tough and easy to grow, and mature plants need very little supplementary watering or fertilising. Pest and disease control is more or less nonexistent as nothing really troubles them. Providing you plant them in a sunny location in a frost-free climate, they’re essentially a set-and-forget plant, needing only an occasional pruning to keep them in shape.

Botanically speaking, most of the bougainvilleas we grow today are the result of cross breeding between three species – Bougainvillea glabra, B. peruviana and B. spectabilis. But they’re mostly sold simply by their cultivar name, such as ‘Scarlett O’Hara’, or ‘Temple Fire’.

How do I grow them?
Bougainvilleas are native to tropical and sub-tropical South America, but they are pretty adaptable and will perform very well in a variety of climates.

Location: Select a warm sunny position, if possible, protected from strong winds that may spoil the beautiful flowering display.

Soil: Any average well-drained garden soil is suitable, but it’s a good idea to add compost or manure to the hole when planting. For planting in pots, use a good quality potting mix.

Watering: Newly planted bougainvilleas will benefit from regular watering during the warmer months of the year, but keep them reasonably dry throughout autumn and winter. Established plants can survive well on only an occasional watering.

Fertilising: Feed plants in early spring with a balanced controlled-release fertiliser, but avoid any high-nitrogen fertilisers after this, as these will stimulate leaf growth at the expense of flowers. Feed container-grown plants periodically with a soluble fertiliser for flowering and fruiting plants, such as Thrive Flower & Fruit.

Training: Although generally described as climbers, bougainvilleas are really large scrambling shrubs. The thorns on the stems are in fact their inbuilt support mechanism. Large varieties need support in the form of a wall, arbour or a pergola to lean against, and may need regular tying back. Small varieties usually don’t need support as they remain quite compact.

Pruning: Bougainvilleas flower on new wood, so they can be cut back quite severely during winter and will bounce back to bloom again the following summer. As a general guide, you can cut back the stems that have flowered to within 5cm of the older wood. Small varieties growing in tubs can simply be clipped back all over to maintain their shape.