Bougies do go through blooming cycles, but their non blooming period is short.

I have 6 bougies (used to have 9, but the greenhouse got too crowded so I gave some away :-) and this is what I do. After purchase I transplant them into a 2 or 3 gal pot using Miracle Grow potting soil or some other good rich soil with fertilizer added. They are given full sun. They will spend some time developing roots to fill the pot and then they take off and bloom almost continuously. As soon as they wilt I water them (sometimes in hot mid-summer this is everyday) making sure the whole root ball is moist and the water is not running along the sides only. They are fertilized monthly with whatever I have on hand. About every three years they are given fresh potting soil. They spend the winter in the greenhouse without much light, but they survive and are blooming within about three weeks of being taken outside. Some of them are so old and the trunks so thick they look like bonsai!

So for me they need sun, fertilzer, and moisture. I don't know why people say they like it dry. Maybe that's when they are planted in the ground, but I have not found that true when in a pot. Incidentally, if planted in the ground they grow huge before they decide to bloom.

I hope this helps ... :-) I hope others will give you their experiences.

This post was edited by roselee on Fri, Jun 20, 14 at 0:22

Thought you might want to see what you can look forward to ... :-)

"Gardening is the joy in your heart, made visible."

These are big and gorgeous. I should transplant mine that have been in their white hanging baskets for at least a year in my garden.

Would you transplant now or wait. They look good, just dry out daily. I fertilize with 20 20 20 weekly.

Thank you for inspiring me to try them. We have lots.
smiling
c

Do they perhaps like to be root bound? I have tried fertilizer , full sun, good potting mix and while the plant looks healthy, not a single color!

Cynthia, you can transplant them now. I just transplanted one of mine into a slightly larger pot because it was more decorative. They will first put their energy into filling the new pot with roots, but probably will bloom even better after few weeks. Yes, I've also found that frequent fertilizer is good. They need energy to make all those blooms ... :-)

Meg, sounds like you've done all the right things. I don't know if they like to be root bound, but they bloom well when they are.

Give it a couple more weeks of sun, water when it first starts to wilt or just before, and I bet it will start blooming like crazy. Thing is when you have one, you watch it. When you have a bunch of them like Cynthia and I do you don't notice so much when one is resting, growing longer stems and foliage, or growing more roots.

This post was edited by roselee on Fri, Jun 20, 14 at 0:37

Instead of watering continuously and sparingly, soak the heck out of it and then let it dry out ... mimic a tropical downpour.

That often provokes them into blooming.

Thank you for your replies!

I will try putting them in full tx sun and water them a little sparingly and see if that does the trick!

Will keep you posted.

Thank you

Thank you Roselee
Once I got the hang of it I have a whole ugly fence covered with them. I do a 20/20/20 every weekend and water when I see some droop. That is often daily with the wind and heat.

Cynthia, thank you for the photo! Gorgeous!!!

Meg, don't water too sparingly ... LOL. The roots need moisture to grow. My theory is after the roots have been twirling around the pot for a bit the plant 'decides' that this is as far as they're going to get and begins the blooming process to replicate itself. That may be why a more mature plant will bloom after the flood and drying period as mentioned above. It 'thinks'; "Well, I may die soon so I better use all my energy to bloom and produce seeds." However, the varieties we grow are sterile hybrids and don't make seeds.

The article below says not to use saucers under pots. Perhaps saucers might promote rot in 80 to 90 degree climates like some parts of California and Florida, but with our 105 to 110 + degrees in summer they need all the help they can get so I use saucers. The saucers retain a little water and gives the soil time to soak it up. The peat moss in many potting soils become resistant to absorbing water after drying. I even mix extra water retaining crystals in my potting soil. Miracle Gro contains it already, but not enough IMHO. Sometimes if the soil has really dried out I either set the pot in a tub of water to hydrate, or lay a very slow dripping hose in the pot.

Plus there are differences in varieties. I notice some begin blooming later/earlier/longer than others, but all the hybrid varieties available in nurseries bloom well.

Do keep us posted. Wishing for you the best blooming bougie in the world! ... :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: How to water bougies ... mostly about bougies in ground.

*sigh* I wish I could keep a bougainvillea. I had a hanging one that was really unhappy at my house despite being in full sun. And then I read about them and realized they are tropical. Some articles stated that their roots are fragile, they don't like soil they like moss, lots of water, etc. I can't seem to keep anything tropical or highly acid loving at my Fort Worth residence so I gave up. Same thing happened with an August Beauty gardenia :(

I'm with you on the August Beauty gardenia. I could never keep them going. But I don't find bougies hard to grow, but yes, being tropical they do freeze if left out in pots during the winter. In Mexico they grow as big as trees. What a sight they are in one big blooming mass. If there are several warm winters in a row in San Antonio people get them to grow and bloom if planted in the ground, especially on the south side of S. A.

I use BGI's Bougain on my bougainvillea bonsai. When one cycle of blooms fall off...it readily sends out another blooming set of colorful bracts. BGI also sells a good soil just for bougainvilleas that is quick draining and organic. Mine has thrived since I placed it in such soil. As well as others I know who have bougainvillea bonsai. They are tropical plants...but I and many I know live in northern states and have success with them. Needing on indoors spot for wintering with good outdoor light. (Mine goes into a sunroom)

I'm so jealous of those beautiful gardens! My poor Bougie was hanging in an arbor and the wind grabbed it numerous times. Crashing up-side-down and now about 1/4 is left but that is not giving up. The flowers are so pretty but just all lopsided. I'm hoping in time it will fill in. Thank you RoseLee and Cynthia Novak for giving me models to strive for. Happy Trails to You!

Thanks to all who posted about their bougies here. Bougainvilleas, from bonzai to almost tree size, are amazing and beautiful flowering plants.

Here's another photo of some in my yard from a couple of years ago ...

This one, taken a few years ago, is growing on the side of a dry cleaners in my neighborhood. It blooms wonderfully well after a few mild winters that do not take it to the ground ...

These photos were taken on the south side of San Antonio after a few mild winters ...

I planted a couple of mine in the ground last year after deciding I had no more room in the green house for them. They grew like crazy and never bloomed. It seems their roots must reach a certain size and be in balance with the top according to where they are planted before they bloom. I decided there would be no more of that so I dug them up and stuffed their roots in pots. They are blooming well in their pots now.

I have had one in the ground for several years now, against the house. It grows 3-5' but it only blooms towards the end of fall (3-4 weeks). Also, is has died back to the ground every year, no exception. In my area (Kyle), they definitely have a longer and better performance in pots.

Omar