Depends on the exact cultivar.

Some bougainvillea cultivars are rampant viney rambling shrubs.

Some, such as 'Rosenka' and 'Raspberry Ice', are shrubbier and don't require any vine support.

Many cultivars can be limbed up as a standard (lollipop, patio tree).

Joe

I planted a bouganvilla three yrs. ago in a barrel and next to it (in the same container) a miniture rose. It has never given many flowers but is nice and green. I read that roses need lots of water, whereas bouganvillas don't. My husband removed the rose bush and the bouganvilla is now all wilted. Is it dead?

Maybe seven years ago I purchased two plants inwhat were hanging containers and they are still giving me a bit of color in these same bowls on the front porch where they do receive filtered sun but not alot of care. The red you see is only leaves so they won't need floering food infact I just give them liquid kelp now and than but they do need regular watering. I have many green plastic poles from Home Depot just the basic stakes for flowers but I put three medium sized stakes in another potted plant and used Teflon tape to control the branches which you could do in order to give the plant som height and let the bush grow out a bit and maybe get a little more sun. They're not picky about light but here in the hot Ca. sun I have them growing into huge vines around the peremiter of my fences.

Shirley, what probably happened is the roots of the rose and the bougainvillea became intertwined. Bougies hate to have their roots disturbed, so when your husband took out the rose, the bougie roots probably became fairly damaged.

You can try cutting back your bougie so that the top growth is fairly consistent with the roots that remain - too much greenery and not enough roots to support it equals a not too happy plant.

Good luck, and I hope your plant recovers!

Brenda